Death Penalty: For or Against?

[Quackers]

 

[useless]

Pro-lifers would be against this.

 

[Arakhor]

Agreed, Spaying and Neutering is a good punishment for rape.

I said it was appropriate, Dumanios. I never mentioned that it was a Good Thing (TM).

 

[Shadowbound]

So the existence of the death penalty is the only variable which affects the murder rate?
Aren't you forgetting an awful lot of other factors?

You have yet to submit any evidence of your own in support of your position. I've already stated the death penalty is a symptom of a much larger problem, and that states without it likely have a greater focus on rehabilitation.

 

[Quackers]

I haven't got a position just asking a lot of questions.

 

[Incodcito]

The Death Penalty should only be used in the most rare of circumstances, so rare that I might as well be considered de facto against the Death Penalty.

 

[Shadowbound]

I haven't got a position just asking a lot of questions.

But do people honestly think lighter sentances are going to lead to less murders then harsher ones? Honestly? REALLY? C'MON!!?!?!

It seems you do.

 

[kosiosko 1]

But do people honestly think lighter sentances are going to lead to less murders then harsher ones? Honestly? REALLY? C'MON!!?!?!

are you really implying that people think they will get caught, and go ahead because the sentence is lighter ... C'MON!?

 

[Quackers]

I was presenting a different side of the argument - I have no dog in this fight.

 

[kosiosko 1]

I was presenting a different side of the argument - I have no dog in this fight.

So was i...

 

[Tani Coyote]

Pros:

It prevents repeat murders. Also arguably celebrates the dignity of the victim by saying that thou shalt not murder(first, anyway).

Cons:

More expensive than life - to the tune of 1.1 million more per person.

Death is not the worst of fates as easy as it is to believe. Mercy killing, anyone?

1/4 of death row inmates die of natural causes.

Can't be reversed.

Gives an arguably detrimental power to the state: the power to take the right to life away from its citizens, the most sacred right from which all others are derived.

---

I didn't add morality to this since I don't consider it immoral. Just very pointless and stupid considering the alternatives.

 

[lordsurya08]

Capital punishment doesn't deter anyone; it simply kills them. It utterly fails in its main task.

Capital punishment deters other potential criminals from commiting crime. Many hardened criminals don't care about prison. Some even like it - free food and a comparatively better life.

 

[lordsurya08]

Pros:

It prevents repeat murders. Also arguably celebrates the dignity of the victim by saying that thou shalt not murder(first, anyway).

Cons:

More expensive than life - to the tune of 1.1 million more per person.

Death is not the worst of fates as easy as it is to believe. Mercy killing, anyone?

1/4 of death row inmates die of natural causes.

Can't be reversed.

Gives an arguably detrimental power to the state: the power to take the right to life away from its citizens, the most sacred right from which all others are derived.

---

I didn't add morality to this since I don't consider it immoral. Just very pointless and stupid considering the alternatives.

What are these alternatives? Are any of them cheaper than execution?
And yes, the state DOES have the power to take life from those that deserve it. It should have that right - how else can justice be adminstered.

 

[Tani Coyote]

What are these alternatives? Are any of them cheaper than execution?

Life imprisonment life imprisonment life imprisonment. It's on average 1.1 million dollar cheaper than death. This is primarily because of the appeals process, which exists to prevent a wrongful execution to begin with.

You can also use convicts as forced labor in times of need. Dead people just take up space.

And yes, the state DOES have the power to take life from those that deserve it. It should have that right - how else can justice be adminstered.

I'll let you discuss this with the more hardcore libertarian-minded people here.

Justice can be administered the same way it is for everyone else: prison and penal labor.

---

Also, use multi-quote. Double posting is against the forum rules.

 

[lordsurya08]

You haven't attempted to back them up either, Lord Surya.

You're right, I didn't, not until two minutes after you posted. Read the post just two posts after yours.

 

[W|M]

The Death Penalty should only be used in the most rare of circumstances, so rare that I might as well be considered de facto against the Death Penalty.

I also believe this.

 

[kosiosko 1]

What are these alternatives? Are any of them cheaper than execution?
And yes, the state DOES have the power to take life from those that deserve it. It should have that right - how else can justice be adminstered.

how else?
the way most modern democracies do would be a good starting point... with no state killing of its own citizens

 

[.Shane.]

edit: Those were not my words.

 

[lordsurya08]

written by the OP
First of all, there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty is more expensive than life imprisonment. Doing further research, I discovered that both my assertions that the death penalty is cheaper and the replies that it is not are debatable. Read this :

http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001000

On the other hand, we shouldn't blame the expensiveness of the death penalty on the concept of the death penalty itself but instead on the inefficiency of the American legal system.

The justice system here is extremely inefficient. In India, death sentences are much cheaper because justice is much more swift and efficient - it costs about 200 times less in India than here! (this is a rough quote from one of my uncles, who practices in India) And there is no statistic that shows that the Indian justice system has led to more false executions than that of any other major country in the world.

If the American justice system is improved, the death penalty will save billions of dollars which could be better spend for our education (which in turn would reduce crime!)

 

[lordsurya08]

As long as there is an innocent child anywhere in the world who does not have enough to eat, we should not pay taxes to feed a serial killer. Let them die.

Agreed.