The death Penalty! Should it be banned?

[Anti-Hero]

Person X commits the following crimes:

• 2 Capital Murders
• 5 Murders
• 10 Rapes
• 8 Arson Acts
• 13 Robberies

Wait, We are in Texas and this dude isn't getting executed? You've gotta be kidding if you want to get rid of the death penalty when people commit mass and sever crimes. Wouldn't you want dudes like this executed? They're gonna try to escape jail or kill someone anyways if they are not rid of.

Yeah, if I saw the guy, I'd probably cap 'em, but that doesn't make what I did right.

And escaping jail isn't as easy as it seems, and someone who did all that, would be put on higher security than someone who committed a single murder, thus, making it harder for him to get out. Killing him wouldn't be fair to his family. Yes, the kills he made wouldn't be fair to their families, but two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

As the abolistionists state, no one has the right to take another person's life. So when someone does take another person's life, they are in violation of that principle and undeserving of their own life.

No. Once you take away the rights of one individual, no matter who they are or what they did, you take away the rights of everyone.

And they give "super" due process to people who are on Death Row because, as I said above, loltheyaregoingtodie and you cannot revoke killing someone like you can revoke a prison sentence. :/

 

[blackmoonflower]

I think the death penalty should be banned. The "eye for an eye" mentality does not work. People still kill, and they still get killed for it, but does it stop? No, it doesn't. One of the biggest reasons there are alternatives to being in jail is because there's no room for all the criminals. Does that give the right to kill them because they've killed someone else? If that's the only way to stop them during the arrest, that's fine, but if they're sitting in a jail cell awaiting the death march, then that should stop. There should be reform programs for all criminals. They all usually plead insanity anyway...

Stop the pointless slaying of human beings!

 

[FreakyLocz14]

No. Once you take away the rights of one individual, no matter who they are or what they did, you take away the rights of everyone.

And they give "super" due process to people who are on Death Row because, as I said above, loltheyaregoingtodie and you cannot revoke killing someone like you can revoke a prison sentence. :/

Even if you simply put a person in prison you have taken away his rights for a specified period of time. Most people commit crimes between the ages of 15-35 meaing if someone were given a life sentence as opposed to a death sentence at that age the taxpayers would have to support that person for decades until they die on their own accord.

Why should cold-hearted murderers get to a free place to sleep, three free meals a day, and free healthcare for the rest of their lives?

 

[Harmonie]

I do not agree with the Death Penalty at all.

It just seems a bit hypocritical in the end to kill somebody for killing others.

 

[poopnoodle]

Why should cold-hearted murderers get to a free place to sleep, three free meals a day, and free healthcare for the rest of their lives?

You're making prison sound like a pretty nice place. To be frank, I'd rather be dead than bored and isolated in a cell going nuts with boredom and reflecting on the reason I'm there in the first place, so I'm against the death penalty. To murder the murderer is not only hypocritical, but it is to give them the easy way out of their retribution.

 

[Gamer2020]

Even if you simply put a person in prison you have taken away his rights for a specified period of time. Most people commit crimes between the ages of 15-35 meaing if someone were given a life sentence as opposed to a death sentence at that age the taxpayers would have to support that person for decades until they die on their own accord.

Why should cold-hearted murderers get to a free place to sleep, three free meals a day, and free healthcare for the rest of their lives?

Correct me if I'm wrong.
But I was taught in school that it costs more to execute someone then it does to keep them imprisoned for life.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Correct me if I'm wrong.
But I was taught in school that it costs more to execute someone then it does to keep them imprisoned for life.

This depends on the state but in most cases that is not true unless the prisoner is an elderly person or someone suffering from a chronic illness. Most of the money spent on a death row inmate is spent on the appeals process in addition to normal costs for housing an inmate, not the actual execution. In states where many years go by between sentencing and the actual execution the cost could be high. In states like Virginia, where the DC sniper was executed, the time from sentencing to execution is rather short so the cost is significantly less.

What you learned in school was probably a case of liberal propaganda typical of the education system but I'll leave that discussion for another day.

 

[Bear]

These days prison overcrowding is also a factor. The obvious way to solve this is by building more prisons. But oh dear, those cost actual money? Darn.
Which is why they set criminals free prematurely to essentially make room for the next batch who will also be set free.

If the death penalty somewhat relieves that situation, then so be it. A dead murderer and an imprisoned rapist is a better situation than an imprisoned murderer and a free rapist.

 

[twocows]

In cases where people are proven guilty beyond any doubt (reasonable or otherwise), and there is no alternative besides locking them up for the rest of their lives (meaning that, for whatever reason, we can't rehabilitate them), I think that these particular people should be allowed to choose between the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole. Also, people who choose the second should be forced to do something useful for society for the rest of their lives instead of simply eating up resources.

The US, at least, needs a complete overhaul of our justice system, among other things.

 

[digi-kun]

In cases where people are proven guilty beyond any doubt (reasonable or otherwise), and there is no alternative besides locking them up for the rest of their lives (meaning that, for whatever reason, we can't rehabilitate them), I think that these particular people should be allowed to choose between the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole. Also, people who choose the second should be forced to do something useful for society for the rest of their lives instead of simply eating up resources.

The US, at least, needs a complete overhaul of our justice system, among other things.

Oh hey, i finally find someone who's like-minded with me instead of the straight kill the guy, or no it's not right.
Generally, most of my arguments have already been mentioned up there, actually. Since I'm under the belief that jail is meant to rehabilitate criminals, having a criminal be judged as beyond help kind of tells me that he shouldn't be in society, alive or dead. Then again, I'm not a mean (or decisive) enough person to directly kill someone if they still feel like living. This is my main reason for giving the choice of taking death penalty or not. So ya, I'd rather have death penalty as a choice option (no ban).

 

[Pokémon Ranger ✩ Moriarty]

And... saying that killing people is better because that saves money... I don't really like how that sounds. At all. It can be (and has been) twisted in really creepy ways.

It's an incredibly twisted argument to begin with. Putting monetary value on a human life is awful...much like the American health care system. That's an argument for another thread. :x

In cases where people are proven guilty beyond any doubt (reasonable or otherwise), and there is no alternative besides locking them up for the rest of their lives (meaning that, for whatever reason, we can't rehabilitate them), I think that these particular people should be allowed to choose between the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole. Also, people who choose the second should be forced to do something useful for society for the rest of their lives instead of simply eating up resources.

I have to be truthful and admit that I had never actually even considered that as an alternative. Legally it would be hard to enforce (IE., if the person is deemed insane, are they mentally able enough to make their own choices with regard to the death penalty, etc.) and morally some people would complain that it was uncomfortably close to suicide (and argue that the family of those murdered are cheated out of their justice if they did want to see the murderer rot away in jail, I suppose), but...if the death penalty must exist, I think that's actually a good way of applying it.

I'm still for it being banned, though.

EDIT:

Why should cold-hearted murderers get to a free place to sleep, three free meals a day, and free healthcare for the rest of their lives?

BECAUSE PRISON IS LIEK SUCH AN AWESOME PLACE TO BE LOL

Except that it isn't. They may get free food, free healthcare and a free place to sleep, but would you want to be locked up in a tiny cell surrounded by people whose morality is as questionable as yours for the rest of your life? I don't think so. And that's why life imprisonment is a far better punishment than the death penalty.

 

[Gamer2020]

This depends on the state but in most cases that is not true unless the prisoner is an elderly person or someone suffering from a chronic illness. Most of the money spent on a death row inmate is spent on the appeals process in addition to normal costs for housing an inmate, not the actual execution. In states where many years go by between sentencing and the actual execution the cost could be high. In states like Virginia, where the DC sniper was executed, the time from sentencing to execution is rather short so the cost is significantly less.

What you learned in school was probably a case of liberal propaganda typical of the education system but I'll leave that discussion for another day.

Well I did forget to add "In some states" LOL https://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

"liberal propaganda"?
Doubt it...

 

[Esper]

I think that these particular people should be allowed to choose between the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.

Would it be right to give a murderer such a choice? I mean, part of the deterrence of threatening would-be criminals with prison is that in prison you don't get to make your own decisions on a lot of things.

 

[Yamikarasu]

Yes, the death penalty should be banned completely and replaced with life in prison without parole. Personally, I believe that killing another human being is completely immoral, and I frankly I don't think it is ever justifiable to kill someone as a punishment, even under extreme conditions. I understand that some people feel the need to get revenge, but I believe it is more important to be the better person than murdering somebody because they murdered somebody.

So here are my reasons for why the death penalty should be outlawed:

1. It is immoral (This is a personal belief).
2. It costs more money to kill someone than it does to put them in prison for the rest of their life without parole. Mainly this is due to lots of paperwork and lawyers fees, etc. I don't know the details but the overall cost to taxpayers is more.
3. There is always a possibility that the person you are killing is innocent. Our justice system is not perfect, and probably never will be.
4. Killing someone does not punish them. To me, it seems that the lifelong torment of their own guilt is a lot more painful. Some people might just not feel guilt, but that leads into my next contention.
5. People in maximum security prison for life without parole, for all intents and purposes, do not escape. Of course there is a slim possibility of escape, but the benefits far outweigh the risks.
6. Most murders are crimes of passion, and what I mean by this is that most killers are not going to feel the urge to ever kill again. They did their crime during an argument, because a spouse cheated on them, etc., not because they simply enjoy killing. And sure there are a rare few people who are sociopaths, but chance of these people escaping, combined with the chance that these people are sociopaths, is virtually nil. Basically more innocent people are murdered on death row than are killed by escaped sociopaths from maximum security prison.

And of course religious beliefs should not be an issue (i.e., it says in the Bible that it is OK, so therefor it is OK), because, at least in the U.S., we must sustain separation of church and state in order to retain our first amendment rights. I don't want this to be that kind of debate so I'm just saying that now.

EDIT: As for giving criminals the choice between the death penalty and life in prison, that's like giving them the option of suicide. Just saying.

 

[Luck]

In this case, I go for 'treat others how you would like to be treated' and not 'an eye for an eye.'
Since I wouldn't like to be executed if I was really innocent, I would want it banned too. An innocent person would die under the government for false accusations.
But if I was really guilty, a boring life would be worse than death for me IMO.

 

[Ray Maverick]

It's not only that "we don't have the right to take the other's life". The death penalty is practically pointless, as the criminal won't understand and/or regret their mistakes by dying.

So "NO a la condena a muerte".

 

[Red1530]

It's not only that "we don't have the right to take the other's life". The death penalty is practically pointless, as the criminal won't understand and/or regret their mistakes by dying.

So "NO a la condena a muerte".

However it would tell others that if you do this crime and are convicted, sat goodbye to your life.

 

[Banjora Marxvile]

Human nature is weird. Make something illegal, more and more people do it for the risk, that is the same with the Death Penalty. In a way, there is a huge risk, and that adds to the excitement - will they get caught. As I don't live in America, or anywhere with the Death Penalty, I don't know how bad it is, as England has no Death Penalty, butmany here believe it to be wrong, as they do not suffer, they get an early escape from a life of sorrow.

 

[BHwolfgang]

Even if it's immoral to take someone's life away for his/her actions, it is also unjust to let them walk another day knowing that what they've done have not been accounted for. I think life in prison is a better way to go than just strapping someone to a chair and injecting lethal poison into him/her.