Death Penalty Debate starter

[Jess Hawsen Arown]

I am pro-death penalty for anyone who willfully takes an innocent life.

I completely understand those who fear executing an innocent person. I am as upset as anyone on this planet, if an innocent person is mistakenly executed. However, I am EQUALLY UPSET at the thought of anyone having the opportunity to live their after taking an innocent life.

There is only one solution: Do the best we can to get it right.

Did you ever notice that anti death penalty advocates who moan about murderers being executed, never, never, never, ever, never mention the family of the murderer's victim.

I strongly believe that if the reinstatement of the death penalty was put to a vote, it would be reinstated -- EVERY WHERE IN THE WORLD! It is the liberal politicians who override the will of the people.

Execute murderers! Aka, take out the garbage.

[fast4522]

I strongly believe that if the reinstatement of the death penalty was put to a vote, it would be reinstated -- EVERY WHERE IN THE WORLD! It is the liberal politicians who override the will of the people.

Execute murderers! Aka, take out the garbage.

I have no problem with an eye for an eye, but do not feel it is as sacred as our bill of rights or the United Stated Constitution. If we ever get a Congress who would take away citizenship from extreme offenders I would feel good about anyone that makes it to death row being exiled to the other side of the world and not pay the tab for the lockup. Then expand that to commercial quantity drug importers and high level dealers. I watched a father on TV convicted of killing his daughter get 25 years in Boston. I don't know for sure but guessing it cost a million to convict, send this guy to east bum hole and save the next million.

[DSB]

I watched a father on TV convicted of killing his daughter get 25 years in Boston.

Being sentenced to 25 years in Boston is tantamount to the death penalty....:D

[fast4522]

Being sentenced to 25 years in Boston is tantamount to the death penalty....:D

The POS punched his own kid in the gut to shut her up, death would be too good for him.

[Lemon Drop Husker]

The POS punched his own kid in the gut to shut her up, death would be too good for him.

What he said.

Death is too good for many people

[Actor]

I completely understand those who fear executing an innocent person.

There is only one solution: Do the best we can to get it right.
What would you say would be an acceptable ratio of executed innocents to total executions?

[thaskalos]

I too favor the death penalty...but only if the process is carried out promptly, and inexpensively. In no way should the act of executing a murderer prove costlier than it is to incarcerate him/her for a lifetime.

And, if an innocent person is erroneously put to death...then the prosecutors and the police officers involved should be executed as well.

[Actor]

I too favor the death penalty...but only if the process is carried out promptly, and inexpensively. In no way should the act of executing a murderer prove costlier than it is to incarcerate him/her for a lifetime.The numbers may have changed but back around 1990 I got into a discussion about this very point. At that time Amnesty International made the following claims:

Length of average life sentence in the U.S. -- 36 years.
Cost of said life sentence -- $1,000,000.
Length of average death sentence -- 12 years.
Cost of said sentence -- $12,000,000

[ReplayRandall]

So let's see if I've got this straight......It's LEGAL in our current society to terminate an innocent human while still in the womb, but a human who premeditates the killing of another human, isn't terminated in a quick and prompt manner, but is allowed to languish in prison with the taxpayer footing the bill, with no hope of rehabilitation, AND there are those who believe we shouldn't have the death penalty at all?......Astonishingly asinine country we live in, isn't it?....My patience is wearing thread-bare thin, might be time to seek asylum from the lunatics who are taking over....Might be flying out soon to Australia or New Zealand before Ginsberg gets there.

[Clocker]

Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.

[ReplayRandall]

Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.

What's arbitrary about an extreme left-wing or right-wing nut job's way of thinking? How about some "balanced" thinking from now on......What a novel idea..:rolleyes:

[Actor]

So let's see if I've got this straight......It's LEGAL in our current society to terminate an innocent human while still in the womb, ...Only if said human is viable, defined as able to live outside the mother's womb with medical assistance. That's generally 28 weeks but the record for the earliest premature birth is 21 weeks 5 days. Don't ask me how they figured out the date of conception.

The court ruling allows for improvements in medical technology. When we get to the point where we can grow a fetus from conception to delivery all in a test tube then abortion will effectively be illegal in the U.S.

[highnote]

There will probably never be 100% agreement on this topic.

Here is a link to an interesting discussion of the ethics of the death penalty:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/against_1.shtml

Aristotle said, "An evil man is worse than a beast and more harmful."

"We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing." -- U.S. Catholic Conference

"To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, it is not justice." -- Attributed to Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Here is one interesting passage:

"It's argued that retribution is used in a unique way in the case of the death penalty. Crimes other than murder do not receive a punishment that mimics the crime - for example rapists are not punished by sexual assault, and people guilty of assault are not ceremonially beaten up.

Camus and Dostoevsky argued that the retribution in the case of the death penalty was not fair, because the anticipatory suffering of the criminal before execution would probably outweigh the anticipatory suffering of the victim of their crime.

Others argue that the retribution argument is flawed because the death penalty delivers a 'double punishment'; that of the execution and the preceding wait, and this is a mismatch to the crime.

Many offenders are kept 'waiting' on death row for a very long time; in the USA the average wait is 10 years. Source: Death Penalty Information Center

In Japan, the accused are only informed of their execution moments before it is scheduled. The result of this is that each day of their life is lived as if it was their last. "

[highnote]

Ohio has replaced controversial lethal injections with a more humane death machine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfsMMVgIToA

[therussmeister]

So let's see if I've got this straight......It's LEGAL in our current society to terminate an innocent human while still in the womb, but a human who premeditates the killing of another human, isn't terminated in a quick and prompt manner, but is allowed to languish in prison with the taxpayer footing the bill, with no hope of rehabilitation, AND there are those who believe we shouldn't have the death penalty at all?......Astonishingly asinine country we live in, isn't it?....My patience is wearing thread-bare thin, might be time to seek asylum from the lunatics who are taking over....Might be flying out soon to Australia or New Zealand before Ginsberg gets there.

Australia and New Zealand don't have the death penalty at all.

[lamboguy]

I too favor the death penalty...but only if the process is carried out promptly, and inexpensively. In no way should the act of executing a murderer prove costlier than it is to incarcerate him/her for a lifetime.

And, if an innocent person is erroneously put to death...then the prosecutors and the police officers involved should be executed as well.
you came up with the perfect solution. we all know how great it is to have a death penalty and we also know in our justice system that innocent people get framed by the authority's on more than a daily basis. so now when the authority gets caught they should also pay the ultimate price. of course sometimes the authority gets framed as well.

never the less i love your concept here.

[Inner Dirt]

Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.


I am pro choice and pro death penalty. As for pro choice I see abortion as a last resort. I do not believe a woman should be forced to bear an unwanted child, especially in the case of a drug user. I think birth control should be readily available free of charge if needed. As for the death penalty no one seems to mention the risk borne by everyone interacting with a murdering piece of crap if he just gets life in prison. With today's advances in science pretty sure being falsely convicted of murder in 2017 is almost impossible.

[MutuelClerk]

If the person is a POS and kills people, hurts children, whatever. Why does his death have to be humane? One bullet. Get it over with. Buh bye.....

[Jess Hawsen Arown]

What would you say would be an acceptable ratio of executed innocents to total executions?

Neither numbers nor race or any other abstract statistics would color my opinion that, if you willfully take an innocent life, you should forfeit your own.

In addition, I am all for an extra layer of investigation to ensure the jury got it right before execution. But the current process of multiple years on death row is nonsense.

[Jess Hawsen Arown]

Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.

Just to be clear. That is a good generalization, but I do know liberals who are pro-death penalty and against government sponsored abortions.

[Tom]

What would you say would be an acceptable ratio of executed innocents to total executions?

0.

But there are ways to prove guilt.
The STATE should be MANDATED to provide DNA testing in all cases for starters. DNA should the burden of the state, not the defendants.

[Tom]

In no way should the act of executing a murderer prove costlier than it is to incarcerate him/her for a lifetime.

When they give someone the lethal injection, they use an alcohol swab first.

Duh.

There is wasted money right there.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Clocker View Post
Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.

Not t all.
ALL unborn babies are innocent.
Anyone facing the death penalty has gone through due process of established law. To be fair, though, it should be mandatory.

[ReplayRandall]

Australia and New Zealand don't have the death penalty at all.

Yeah, and they don't have the lunatics we have here either.....Good trade-off.

[boxcar]

Liberals say that it is OK to kill unborn children, but not criminals. Conservatives say that it is OK to kill criminals but not unborn babies. Does no one see any inconsistency or contradiction or paradox in either position? Both involve arbitrary decisions as to when it is permissible to terminate human life.

All first degree murderers should be subject to capital punishment. The inconsistency exists because the state sanctions murder in one instance, but prohibits it in another.

[Actor]

ALL unborn babies are innocent.Not according to boxcar.:coffee:

[Actor]

Australia and New Zealand don't have the death penalty at all.Yeah, and they don't have the lunatics we have here either....Interesting if it's true. What's your source?

[Actor]

The STATE should be MANDATED to provide DNA testing in all cases for starters.Not all murderers leave DNA evidence.

[Inner Dirt]

When they give someone the lethal injection, they use an alcohol swab first.

Duh.

There is wasted money right there.

Go back to the Old West justice system, found guilty on Friday, put to death on Saturday at high noon.