Death Penalty-Can Someone Explain This?

Life even with parole is already much harsher than most of Europe.

Not sure how victims feel there, but they certainly aren't overrun with murders.

Yes torturing a living thing is horrible. I however draw a very clear distinction the second a person decides to harm a child they signed their death warrant and it should be a painful one.

I think we should leave it up to the victim what they will and will not regret. I think that at the very least the option of severe punishment needs to be there. I have to wonder how often the ability to forgive in these cases comes from a genuine place of forgiveness or if the person finally just throwing their hands up in defeat in the realization that these criminals will never be even mildly punished for their crimes.

If a dog mauled my child I would not want the dog tortured either. Humanely put down? Absolutely. But dogs are not humans. What dogs even have to do with this I don't understand? I have no interesting in treating a human that harms a child with any type of humanity.

I would much rather be blood thirsty at the thought of harming a child than trying to defend for one second that the criminal is deserving of any type of rights, respect, compassion, or humane treatment. I guess I don't get why it just does not make sense to me.


Horrible acts are done by the criminal and the punishment they are given is the equivalent of sending them in a corner for a time out. The idea of anything else is wrong? Questions arise that if we allow an eye for an eye if we are no worse than the criminals are but nobody pauses to think that if we have become the society that is okay with criminals only getting a mild slap on the wrist for their actions. It's argued that making a criminal suffer for their crimes is wrong. I guess for me the idea that criminals need to be treated a certain way in many ways shows that the world is already blind. I suppose I just don't understand why the concept of destroying the monster is wrong? And more importantly why the monster deserves to leave this world in a humane way?

Okay now that is all that I have to say on the subject. I appreciate the discussion and hearing everyone's thoughts on the matter.

Would you be able to carry out that sentence? You, personally? Would you be able to torture someone until they died?

I agree with the comment about the drug war- that would clear out a whole lot of space in jails. I think we need to look at what we are doing wrong in society that results in such a ridiculous number of prisoners. Access to mental healthcare would certainly be a good place to start. Access to a good education for all children. Lack of racism in law enforcement. Decreasing poverty.

Where does the money come from? I don't know. But I would rather see it invested in improving the lives of those who struggle to improve them themselves for lack of resources than I would feeding and housing petty criminals.

Bunny82, all I can say is that I can try and respect your views as your own but I'm also really glad you're not in charge of our justice system.

I also agree that the drug war takes up a LOT of space in prisons. The system is clogged with minor drug charges.

I just want to point out that this isn't true... Mark David Chapman is still in prison, up for parole again this August.

Mea culpea, I mixed Chapman with John Hinckley Jr.

He did not commit a murder, and was never even convicted of attempted murder.

Furthermore, he is still technically a ward of a psychiatric facility (not guilty by reason of insanity) though they now let him out for gps monitored home visits.

Oh yeah I think it take WAY WAY too long to PTS a murderer. I agree that people forget that life doesn't mean life unless it's without parole, which doesn't always happen. I think that capital murder should be automatic death penalty, no life, nothing.

I do wonder if death sentencing would be different if juries were required to somehow participate in the exicution if they vote to put a defendant to death. I feel like if you are going to order someone's death, you should at the very LEAST be required to see it through to the end. If you can't even bear to watch a death, you shouldn't be ordering one.

I wish I could say that I would be able to take the high road if someone I loved was murdered, but I don't know. In those horrible periods of grieving I doubt I'd care if wishing slow painful death on the perpetrater made me a better or worse person. That having been said, I don't think we should be using grief and anger fueled revenge fantasies as a basis for sentencing criminals. That's not healthy for anyone.

I came across this on FB, and thought it was relivent, be warned-it's a tear jerker...

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/a...king-statement?adbsc=social_20140723_28343736

Working directly with child sex offenders and child abusers.... I still wouldn't kill them. The death penalty is barbaric. And having another person decide who is fit to die is so flawed it's untrue.

As much as I think some people deserve horrible things, living in a civilised society I think we need to exert the restraint these people don't have.

Does the death penalty stop crime?? Bollocks it does. Doesn't stop anything at all.

I'd rather advocate other forms of punishment and a better legal system to get those petty offenders help to nor reoffend leaving the jails open and free for the serious offenders to be locked away with no privileges and some hardcore counselling. Ultimately we should be striving to fix the problem not just eliminate the offenders.

Yeah I've wished horrible horrible things on horrible people. But I'm not a murder like them. Yuck.

Once again, your own freaking state has already killed at least TWO innocent people. 18 people have been exonerated from death row. Over 300 murder convictions overturned. Many pre-date routine DNA use, but some are very recent.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/DNA_Exonerations_Nationwide.php

I don't get the impression she really cares if there's a few mistakes a long the way, as long as she can get her death penalty in the end

I don't understand what that has to do with anything if they were over turned/exonerated.

Your bitching about two innocent people out of how many?

The system isn't perfect but there IS need for the death penalty, and new discoveries/advancements in forensics make the conviction of an innocent person less probable.

I am sorry to say but why should no good, degenerate animals for human beings (and let's face it, some of them are) get to keep breathing air, you know in prison they get TV, three square meals a day and I pay for that with my taxes. I hate that I am paying so some **** head who killed a child, or in one case that was mentioned here, an elderly person, can eat.

Im pretty sure for those two innocent people being wrongly put to death it was a big deal...

I have mixed feelings on it all to be honest. I cant even describe the disgust and anger I feel towards these criminals. Especially the ones who hurt kids. I dont know what Id want if someone hurt one of my nieces. I hope I would take a high road but I can understand wanting vengeance.

Overall I dont think a death penalty is a good idea. Its pretty darn barbaric. Theres too many instances of getting it wrong. Its not evenly handed out.

Two innocent people exicuted is too many!

"It's better that 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man be wrongly convicted"

Yeah, hey, what are two murders more or less. Who cares what it does to the executed's loved ones. Their child was murdered too, but by the state, so they have no hope of retribution. They don't even have one single person to hate- there were so many people with their fingers in the pie, and all together they failed.

That must be one of the very worst things to go through. It is not an acceptable side-effect of the death penalty.

The standard of evidence should be pretty darn high for the death penalty. I have mixed feelings about the death penalty. However, if it's going to used, it should be for the right reasons, and not out of revenge. It ought to be for public safety. For as long as some of these sick people are alive, there is always the possibility of them escaping and harming others.

Speaking of wasting oxygen. Does stupid **** like this come out of your mouth all the time? Who cares if a couple innocent people are killed along the way, as long as you get your vengeance huh?

So, executing someone who is innocent is bad. Yet someone said earlier that life in prison is worse than being executed. So innocent people...aren't being kept in prison for life? And this isn't worse than death?

(Totally playing devil's advocate, BTW. So you can yell at me for my flawed logic and such, and I won't be offended. I just had to say it.)

Obviously if you are in prison on a life sentence, there are X amount of years that can be utilized to prove your innocence. But does that really happen? Is time and money being spent to "re-do" convictions? And if so, is that time and money well spent? (Again, devil's advocate.)

I honestly don't have an issue with the death penalty. Especially when it comes down to people who have earned multiple life sentences. What's going to happen to them if they kill someone again, in prison? Another life sentence? Wow. That's really going to put a damper on their out look on life. That being said...I don't think death penalties should be handed out like candy. And I also believe that those being put to death should be executed quickly and painlessly, to the best of the executioner's ability, even if that person was a serial killer that raped and ate toddlers for fun on the weekends.

(Slightly devil's advocate again, slightly my own musings forth coming.)
I also find it slightly ironic, in a sad way, that people (generic people, not you guys) are so offended over the death penalty and yet aren't offended over war. Killing criminals is wrong, but killing other nations' soldiers (or other nation's criminals, as the case may be) is okay. Because. You know. It's not an execution. It's war. They "chose" to be there. And, of course, innocent people are never killed in war.

Yes, in a perfect world there would be no need for war. In a perfect world there would be no need for the death penalty, either. People are going to feel justified in what they do either way. And as long as they feel justified, they're going to keep on doing it.

Hinckley DID attempt to assassinate the PRESIDENT, but that's okay because he failed? Yeah, he got off on the insanity plea, so don't make it sound like he was innocent of ANY wrongdoing. He is mentally ill, and now he's being let out with his lawyers pushing for eventual complete release. Can YOU guarantee he won't go off the deep end again and attempt, and maybe this time succeed, at killing someone? GPS monitored? Yeah, that's a big help if he's committing a crime.

On Chapman - there's NO doubt he murdered John Lennon. WHY is he even up for parole?

Holy ****.