A Highly Controversial Topic: The Death Penalty.

[UnheroicHero 0]

If someone kills another person in self-defense, it's fine. But if they murder another person, they obviously don't value life. Why then should they be allowed to continue living when they don't value life?

[alperuzi 0]

The murderer doesn't value life and kills, can the law be put into the murderes place? The law that sentences that person should in theory value life, thats why its law, and therefore death penalty is wrong since when in use, law contradicts itself.The death penalty is a result of the basic human instinct of revenge, some sufficiently advanced societies can overcome instinct. Others don't.

[joshua132 0]

I think the death penalty is the best thing the US has to deter people from murder. In the end, killers usually don't care or are willing to take the chance of getting caught. Although this is a bit harsh, I believe that instead of a life in prison or death penalty sentence we should have the said convicted criminals do manual labor until at least retirement age. Doing manual labor a criminal would be able to give back to the community which he/she has hurt. I believe that lifelong manual labor would also be a great deterant, and cause people to consider if murder is really worth it. With manual labor as the penalty no one would get off easy and the government would save money.

[brandice 0]

Cold blooded killers, the one's who would really deserve the death penalty, are going to kill no matter what. I don't believe that the death penalty has deterred anyone who was messed up enough to go out and kill people.

[Steven Spell 0]

If someone has a mental deficiency large enough to make them want to kill someone else, I doubt that hearing about some unknown person being killed in some unknown room in a more than likely unknown prison (unless they've been before, then we have to worry about why such a person was ever let out) is going to deter them from doing anything. I would be more worried about being locked in a single room for the rest of my life.

[shadow skazi 0]

If someone kills another person in self-defense, it's fine. But if they murder another person, they obviously don't value life. Why then should they be allowed to continue living when they don't value life?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Agreed.

[BoSZ 0]

Yes, there should be a death penalty

for premeditated murders

furthermore it should be "given" in the same way and with the same cruelty that the murder was done , not in some humane painless and quick method.

[spirit_valley 0]

I think the death penalty is the best thing the US has to deter people from murder. In the end, killers usually don't care or are willing to take the chance of getting caught. Although this is a bit harsh, I believe that instead of a life in prison or death penalty sentence we should have the said convicted criminals do manual labor until at least retirement age. Doing manual labor a criminal would be able to give back to the community which he/she has hurt. I believe that lifelong manual labor would also be a great deterant, and cause people to consider if murder is really worth it. With manual labor as the penalty no one would get off easy and the government would save money.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's good if the murderers really will do manual labour. They'll probably just get away and do nothing.

 

Yes, there should be a death penalty

for premeditated murders

furthermore it should be "given" in the same way and with the same cruelty that the murder was done , not in some humane painless  and quick method.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It would be just a kind of revenge... killing the murderers are useless except that it encourages revenge. And if the society have to use "the same cruel way" to kill the murderer, there'd be no differences between the murderer and the society.

[eiteljoh 0]

if you are thinking the death penalty is a really great thing, read the book "the chamber" by john grisham. i guarantee this will change your opinion. i still believe that the death penalty is a good thing, so long as it's done correctly. in some countries, you receive the death penalty for stealing (ie safrica), in this case it's a nightmare situation, people have to steal to live, and it's game over for the theif if they're caught, or the people who are trying to catch them. remember, it's no applied everywhere like it is in the US.

[byrdhouse 0]

If someone kills another person in self-defense, it's fine. But if they murder another person, they obviously don't value life. Why then should they be allowed to continue living when they don't value life?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree...

 

One thing is 100% guaranteed if a person receives a death penalty...he/she is punished for his/her crime and he/she no longer:

1. locks up the justice system in unnecessary appeals and red tape

2. wastes an exhorbitant amount of tax dollars

3. overcrowds the prisons, therefore having more beds for lesser offense

criminals who could benefit with rehabilitative services.

4. sends a very strong message that crime does pay

5. commits another crime again!

 

Having said this, I believe that individuals, families, churches, societies, etc. have a responsibility to nurture a child with good moral values and give them an opportunity to see themselves as valued individuals, able to contribute positively in society.

 

Listen carefully...

The time to enforce punishment is not right after the crime has occured but systematically and with good judgement from the very early years of childhood onward. This is not a 100% guarantee that little Johnny won't kill when he is an adult but his desire to resort to only killing to deal with the world will be greatly reduced.

 

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

[bjrn 0]

One thing is 100% guaranteed if a person receives a death penalty...he/she is punished for his/her crime and he/she no longer:

1. locks up the justice system in unnecessary appeals and red tape

2. wastes an exhorbitant amount of tax dollars

3. overcrowds the prisons, therefore having more beds for lesser offense

    criminals who could benefit with rehabilitative services.

4. sends a very strong message that crime does pay

5. commits another crime again!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1. Someone sentenced to death will probably cost an anormous amount. No one wants to get killed and so they will probably do as much as they can to stop it from happening

2. See 1.

3. Decriminalizing everything would also remove overcrowding. Because no one would go do jail. That's not really the issue here though.

4. Except that it has been shown (sorry, I can't name names here) that death penalties actually increse violence. And do not significally deter from crimes.

5. Yep.

 

Also: If someone is executed for a crime they weren't guilty of you have a big problem. And bad convictions are a lot more common than you might think. Of course it was a lot worse say 50 years ago, who knows how many innocent african-americans have been killed in the US because of biased juries.

 

Having the death penaltie says:

You can't kill, but we can.

Violence and death solves problems.

 

Are those really messages you want to send?

[Peaktao 0]

well, we have to see first what purposes the death penalty serves;1. deterence?2. punishment according to desert? (according to what people deserve)3. rehabilitation? (one of the main aims of punishment)1. Talking about deterrence...the concept itself is controversial. People don't agree whether deterence effect actually exists. Some people say harsh punishment would prevent crimes because criminals would be scared of the sentence. Hence death sentence is a good way of preventing crimes. Nevertheless, this is not necessarily true. Murderer do not think about what penalty they would get when they commit murder. Many people kill because of impulse. It's an instant decision. Some countries give death sentence to those selling a large amount of heroin. To be fair, most of those people have been in business for such a longgg time...that they could not stop when it becomes the law that they will get a death sentence. They are dealing with millions and millions of dollars. Would they suddenly give up their business just because the government imposes death sentence if they are ever caught. IF the answer is no (they will take the risk and probably spend a little money on hi-tech methods preventing them from being caught or even bribery)...then death sentence has no deterence effect. 2. punishment according to what people deserve. This is probably the most convincing argument for death sentence. Still question arises as to who would be able to judge what people deserve? Some people might even argue that only the God can decide. 3. Rehabilitation is one of the main goals of punishment. This doesn't seem to apply to capital punishment though because if people get death sentence already, they cannot be rehabilitated. So I think the only argument which can probably justify the capital punishment is desert. Still that itself can be questioned.

[iGuest 3]

Sigh..I'm very unsure of how I feel about the death penalty.... While I can see why it is justified, I find no right in anyone being able to take another persons life...This makes it complicated...however, in the chance that I had to decide, I say the death penalty SHOULD NOT OCCUR.It is irrational, and just as much of a murder as the other person had commited.No, I'm not a religious person, "God" does not come to mind when I think of this, however, life is irreplacable, and I disagree with the Topic post...This person stated that "Killers do not value THEIR lives"...WRONG...Killers do not value other lives, if it is there own they didn't value, and they hold the capability of taking another persons life, it is my strong belief that they have just as much power to commit suicide. Therefore, since they don't, they obviously do value their lives. Murder is wrong, to counteract it with more murder and call it right is hypocricy..I do not support it.

[Joshua 0]

1. Someone sentenced to death will probably cost an anormous amount. No one wants to get killed and so they will probably do as much as they can to stop it from happening

2. See 1.

3. Decriminalizing everything would also remove overcrowding. Because no one would go do jail. That's not really the issue here though.

4. Except that it has been shown (sorry, I can't name names here) that death penalties actually increse violence. And do not significally deter from crimes.

5. Yep.

 

Also: If someone is executed for a crime they weren't guilty of you have a big problem. And bad convictions are a lot more common than you might think. Of course it was a lot worse say 50 years ago, who knows how many innocent african-americans have been killed in the US because of biased juries.

 

Having the death penaltie says:

You can't kill, but we can.

Violence and death solves problems.

 

Are those really messages you want to send?

40473[/snapback]

Bjrn is getting at one of the big issues here. I find it ironic that despite all the furor over the multitudes of innocent people on death row so many people are still in support of the death penalty.

 

People get so happy about "justice" being done by taking the lives of the guilty, but what about the innocent ones that get taken as well? Is it alright to kill one innocent person so 99 guilty ones can die and be punished? That's essentially what not only the American society but our government is saying.

 

As for the Bible view, Christ pointed out that once it was an eye for an eye according to the Law, but since we're all guilty of death that point is moot. Like the pharisees who wanted to stone the adulterer, we can judge (punishing/sentencing as a judge) only if we ourselves are without sin.

 

And as Christ says, there is none good but one, and that is God (Mk. 10:18), it's why only God had to come to earth to pay for our sins, as a man to pay the sins of mankind, as God since men cannot be a sinless perfect sacrifice to pay for sin, or infinite to pay for the sins of all rather then just their own.

 

There is one just judge and He says vengeance is His, not ours (Ro. 12:19). When we take it upon our sinful selves we see the great miscarriages we are so accustomed to seeing in our society, of innocent people waiting to be executed, locked away for much of their lives, their lives and relationships ruined.

 

I myself do not see why we continue to pursue the killing of others as a means of justice (and we ourselves all guilty of death) when we can't even guarantee we're getting the real criminals. One innocent (and I use the word as one not guilty of the crime they're accused of, not perfectly innocent which none of us are) life taken is too much.

[inyourarms 0]

I'm definitely against the death penalty. Why should the murdered get to escape feeling guilty (hopefully, anyway) for the rest of their lives?! Although it would give piece of mind to the family of the person who was killed/raped/whatever, I think that it would be more painful to be in prison. I know that we pay taxes for that too. But think of the family of the murderer. It could have been done in self defence, or the person might be completely innocent, but they die for no reason. I just think that's so sad...