the Death Penalty

Jikanu · 03-01-2009, 07:37 PM

I was reading a thread here a few minutes ago, and the death penalty was discussed in it a bit... it got me thinking, and now i want your guys's opinions on it.

I personally think that you can't respond with violence with violence... it's like what Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Thoreau said. You have to fight back peacefully... people say "fight fire with fire", or in this case "fight hate with hate" and "fight death with death"... but doesnt that just make more hate, and death?

i can understand the position of those who dont want to pay taxes to feed them, and they're rightful in that belief. but still, i dont think that it's a human beings right to take another one's life. And when you do that, you're creating a path which goes back to the times of the old testament... an eye for an eye, and such. And if you're not the better person, going above using killing to solve your problems, how are you really any better than the killer him/herself?

and besides, isnt life rotting away in a tiny cell in solitary confinement a bit worse a punishment than the death penalty?

**Lirange** · 03-01-2009, 07:52 PM

Ehhh, i dont know where my opinions are on the death penalty, There are pro's and con's to it for me. But yea, i do think life in prison is a far worse fate then the death penalty.

**Loveless** · 03-01-2009, 08:06 PM

It may depend on what that particular individual did to receive such verdict. Give an example of a crime. Would you say that someone who had raped and killed little girls should still be left in solitary confinement? Even if it's evident that this individual believes it wasn't an act of crime and that he had done nothing wrong? Not even a shred of regret.

It's not an eye for an eye in this case I would think. This person had destroyed the lives of many families. The family will be haunted by that and the fact that he still breathes while their little girl had suffered such a horrible fate. Would his life alone be enough to make it up? No, not at all, his death isn't bringing them back but for those families perhaps they will be a little at ease knowing such a monster is no longer here.

**Hraesvelg** · 03-01-2009, 08:06 PM

If a state could prove conclusively that a person was guilty of a capital crime, I would be in favor of the death penalty. As it stands, many people are put to death that aren't guilty of the crime they've been convicted. That's intolerable to me. I'd rather some guilty people go free rather than punish an innocent.

Granted, this is fairly idealistic and it's probably impossible since humans are flawed. The most pragmatic approach is to not execute the convicted, but the imprison them. Then, if new evidence surfaces, a new trial can be had.

For more reading, visit The Innocence Project.

Jikanu · 03-01-2009, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Loveless

It may depend on what that particular individual did to receive such verdict. Give an example of a crime. Would you say that someone who had raped and killed little girls should still be left in solitary confinement? Even if it's evident that this individual believes it wasn't an act of crime and that he had done nothing wrong? Not even a shred of regret.

It's not an eye for an eye in this case I would think. This person had destroyed the lives of many families. The family will be haunted by that and the fact that he still breathes while their little girl had suffered such a horrible fate. Would his life alone be enough to make it up? No, not at all, his death isn't bringing them back but for those families perhaps they will be a little at ease knowing such a monster is no longer here.

but if he rotted away in a cell in a mental assylum, in solitary confinement (because that's deffinitely where that kind of person would belong), melting in his own insanity, never hearing another person's voice, having to stew there with no way out, wouldnt it be a bit more of a just punishment? you're not killing him, and not continuing the cycle of violence, but you're still granting him the punishment he deserves

Originally Posted by Hraesvelg

If a state could prove conclusively that a person was guilty of a capital crime, I would be in favor of the death penalty. As it stands, many people are put to death that aren't guilty of the crime they've been convicted. That's intolerable to me. I'd rather some guilty people go free rather than punish an innocent.

Granted, this is fairly idealistic and it's probably impossible since humans are flawed. The most pragmatic approach is to not execute the convicted, but the imprison them. Then, if new evidence surfaces, a new trial can be had.

For more reading, visit The Innocence Project.

hm... but still, it wouldnt do anything for the loved ones to know he was dead. i mean, there's very little difference between that and a maximum security prison. and if you kill... is it right to kill a killer? i mean, it's better than an innocent, but you shouldnt take anyone else's life unless yours is threatened. i believe it's not for us to decide who lives or dies. as long as there's little to no chance of escape, there's no point in killing him, especially since i read somewhere that it costs more money to find a doctor who will use the lethal injection than to feed the prisoner and stuff... dont know if that's true though.

**Hraesvelg** · 03-01-2009, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by Jikanu

i believe it's not for us to decide who lives or dies.

If not us, and by that I mean we as a society, then who?

Jikanu · 03-01-2009, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by Hraesvelg

If not us, and by that I mean we as a society, then who?

*shrugs*i believe it would be God's decision, but that gets into religion, which this isnt about. i dont think society should choose to kill. that takes us back to more prehistoric times... more primitive. if we dont have the common sense to stop the killing, how are we any better than apes?

Warning_Shot · 03-01-2009, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by Jikanu

but if he rotted away in a cell in a mental assylum, in solitary confinement (because that's deffinitely where that kind of person would belong), melting in his own insanity, never hearing another person's voice, having to stew there with no way out, wouldnt it be a bit more of a just punishment? you're not killing him, and not continuing the cycle of violence, but you're still granting him the punishment he deserves

That would fall under unethical treatment of prisoners, or torture. I believe the U.S. outlawed torture in federal prisons.

Jikanu · 03-01-2009, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by Warning_Shot

That would fall under unethical treatment of prisoners, or torture. I believe the U.S. outlawed torture in federal prisons.

not neccesarilly torture. but if they're psychopathic enough to think that it's ok to rape and kill, with no moral consequences, i'm relatively sure solitary confinement is appropriate

**Hraesvelg** · 03-01-2009, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Jikanu

*shrugs*i believe it would be God's decision, but that gets into religion, which this isnt about. i dont think society should choose to kill. that takes us back to more prehistoric times... more primitive. if we dont have the common sense to stop the killing, how are we any better than apes?

Aaaand that's where you lost me. It's hard to have rational discourse with someone that holds irrational truths so near and dear.

Here's a little newsflash, we ARE apes.