Capital Punishment

Definitely one of the most angry opening posts to a debate I've ever seen.

Personally, I'm for capital punishment. Say what you want, but some people deserve it. Besides which, it's cheaper. Imagine how much money goes into prisons for all the people serving life sentences. Not to mention their so well taken care of that their lives can be pretty long. Assuming they don't piss off the wrong people that is.

Seriously, life in prison is an easy sentence. I'm sure it's not the most pleasant place in the world to live, but think about it. They put a roof over your head, they feed you, provide medical care, recreation, in most cases entertainment, and you don't have to spend a dime. I'm sure there are people in prison that are quite content to be there. Their getting for free what the rest of us have to work our asses off for.

 

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!! dude they may be bad and have done wrong thing's... but that's no reason to exacute them

 

I think Anyone who ever raped or killed intentionally should be executed. I mean like accedental killings, Should have no death penalty, Many people get executed for this for no reason. Even if its drunk driving and someone gets killed the drunk driver shouldnt be killed by the state.
But things like murder and even attempted murder, They need to die.
Way too many people who kill get off the hook because the american justice system is too flawed. If there is solid evidence, Throw`em in the chair.

 

Do me a favor, Seph. I can see you're very passionate on the subject, and it may be hard for you. But try to calm down a little bit. You haven't gotten out of hand, but as angry as you are right now, I'd hate to see what happens if this starts getting a little more heated. You also run the risk of, whether you intend to or not, offending someone on the opposite side of the debate simply because of how intense your argument is.

Now back to the subject at hand. Luke brings up a very good point. While I agree that capital punishment should be in place, I think that it should be used conservatively. the cases should be examined carefully to determine whether or not the death penalty is appropriate. Manslaughter, crimes commited while under the influence, and crimes of passion I think should not require the death penalty. But in the case of some sadistic person who planned out the torture and murder of some innocent person just for his own amusement, that warrants it.

 

Even though I think that all the bad guys should die, I would have to say no. Taking some life is wrong, but if you do to that person, are you no better? I hate when people who do stupid things and take away some life, but taking their life? No. I don't want to say I forgive you...all I want to do is beat the crap out of the person, spit, curse, and a lot of unholy things to the person, but to take their life? I won't go that far. There are a lot worser things in life. The death penalty is quick and painless, I want them to suffer for all the wrong they did and to pay, but I don't want to end their life. A human life is not a life of an animal.

 

Yukou's right. Like he said, though this may sound childish, a wrong for a wrong does not make a right.

If you really think about it, what IS the purpose of killing a criminal? What some of you guys are basically saying is: so that the criminal can fully suffer the consequences of his actions. That, in other words, is called revenge, which is probably the most common reason behind all crimes. What good is it for us to use that same immoral feeling against people who do the same?

I believe that we should give these criminals who commit major crimes time to reflect upon their mistakes even if it means doing it in a lifetime of prison. I'll probably get a warning to "face reality" and "understand that most criminals will never have a change of heart," but trust me, reality is what we make it, and our nation cannot become a better place if we simply just kill people to fix society's problems.

Besides, as meticulous as our judicial system is, we can never be fully sure if a crime was accidental or intentional, and thus capital punishment can never be 100% fair.

 

The problem with that assumption, Yukou, is that they don't suffer. They damn near live a life of comfort. And guess who pays for every dime of it? We do. Some of our tax dallars go to fund prisons. This means we buy their food, pay pay for their medical care, etc. Things that a lot of people are struggling to be able to buy themselves, if they're able to do it at all. I don't know about you, but I don't want money taken out of my pay check every week to give medical care that is probably better than what I get to some person who raped, tortured and killed a little girl for the simple reason that he gets off on it.

If they have the death penalty, they don't get these benefits for long.

 

It may not make it right but it makes it even.

And yokou who are you to say human lives are more valuable than that of animals?

And yokou, The gas chamber is anything but quick and painless.

 

It's Yukou. I understand you and how you feel about this topic but you don't want to walk down that path. Killing someone isn't going to bring that person back, but it do make us feel better. Don't it? Even I may act like I'm tough and I don't give a crap, I have a guilty mind. I don't want to take no one life because no matter how you feel, the person that you love won't come back. Killing is meaningless and it is wrong. I get that. Criminals need to pay for what they done to our society. An eye for an eye? Correct?

EbeneezerAl to comment about your questiong I would have to say we need to change the policy. All men where created equally and we made the Constitution for a reason and that reason is to enforce that statement.

Think about it. I am very mad about 9/11. We caught some of the masterminds behind that attack and what did we do to them? Give in to their demands. I'm not trying talk S*** about people religion but, correct me if I am wrong, in the Muslim word, dying for your religion is the greatest honor. They rather died than to go to prison and thats what we did to them. I for got about that guys name but, if we would've give them life, that is a blow to their ego that I love to see.

I have no right to say that a human life is higher than an animal but we are intelligent. We can think and we can process ideas.

 

Actually, we didn't execute Saddam. The Iraqi people did that one.

Not to mention that the concept of jihad (sp?) is not exactly as the terrorists would lead to believe. I'm not an expert on the religion, but my understanding is that religion, practiced as it should be, is a peaceful religion. A terrorist killing innocent lives in the name of Allah is no more in following with his religion than the people who bomb abortion clinics cause they feel abortion is a sin or a serial killer who claims God told him to do it.

Another thing to take into account is the possibility of prison breaks.Sure, prisons are guarded, but people do still get out. And now all of a sudden you have some killer on the loose because he managed to slip away. How many more people die before he's caught again? The longer a person stays in prison, the more likely they are to find a way out. They'll know more about the defenses. When the guards change. If they're smart enough, which many of the more violent criminals are, they can find the holes in the system and wait for their opportunity. It's hard to escape when you've been put in the electric chair.

 

I'm sorry for my lack of maturity in the rest of this post, but...

HAHAHAHAHA! HAI GAIZ, LETS PUNISH PEOPLE WHO KILLED PEOPLE BY KILLING THEM! MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, LULZ! ITS NOT LIEK WE'RE TOTALLY BEING HYPOCRITES OR ANYTHING, RITE?!

 

^ stupid

Some would say an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind right? thats why we have seeing eye dogs.

And the USA is nothing but hypocrites.
If someone kills someone intensionally, they should have no right to live.

 

Hey! I'm an American. I'm no hypocrite.

And seriously, why do you kill people to show people that killing is wrong? It makes no sense.

Come up with a GOOD explanation for it other than 'they have no right to live'. If I didn't no better, I would swear you were saying 'because the bible says so'.

 

Actually, the difference is the purpose. Any criminal sentence is a debt to society. You committed a crime, and now you have to pay for what you did. In the case of murder and such, the idea is that since what you took was a life, what you owe is a life.

As for the actual killer, in many cases, especially those warranting a death sentence, the killer did simply because he felt he could and he got off on it. There are other reasons, crimes of passion, etc., but many of those I feel don't warrant a death sentence, although some debt must still be paid.

And, if I'm not mistaken, the "eye for an eye" quote comes out of the Bible, though Luke quoted Ghandi's response to said quote. So technically, the "because the Bibile said so" argument has been made.

 

i do have to say i agree with luke on the fact he said americans are hypocrites. . not the biggest fan of this country tbh, buuut i also do find the death penelty and anything of its sort highly hypocritical, im still on the border line of weather i find it right or wrong. But i dont find it right to kill some1 for killing some1. . . what justice does that serve? none wat so ever
its like. . . if some1 runs over your cat with a car, that could easily be considered accidently murder to some people, or the owner of the cat could find it murder, buuut, does that give the owner right to go run over the other persons cat?! or to kill that person who ran over there cat? o.- no it doesnt give them any right at all.
me personally, i think war, death, murder, anythign of that sort is purely repulsive and i dont understand why we need it in this world, its just the matter of that allot of people are really really sick, and its really depressing.
Also, if you were to kill som1 if they kiled some1, and you had all the evidence to back it up, all of the proof to convict the criminal and you killed them, you would go to jail, get the punishment, but that could easily be considered the death penelty, serving justice, but no, you would get the wrath of the court room for the actions.
so i dont understand, how it makes it okay for the court to say its okay to take some1s life, but you could be doing the same thing with a pistol in your hand, it makes no sense.

like i said im on the border line of thinking its right or wrong, leaning towards wrong though.

I honestly think we could think of a better way, buut because of the way the prisons are builts these days, its not so much . . . a bad thing if u come from a crappy life and, we pay to keep criminals in jail, wel not me, my parents do. That is why im border lined, because there are both pros and cons about it, and i cant decide if the pros over rule the cons or visa versa.

I dont have an alternative for the death penelty. Buuut, i think that people who rape, or make people suffer, or kill massive massive loads of people, diserve somthing horrid, life in jail isnt enough and death is to much, and hypocritical. i also agree with wat un BLE vble said bout giveing the criminal time to reflect, if they do have a heart, witch every1 does its just a little harder to find in some then others, then it will eat at them, and if it does take a life time in jail, so be it. They should, eventually see what they have done is wrong, it doesnt meen that they wont do it again, buut it should make them think before they do.

soo at my standpoint within this debate, im laning towards the death penelty isnt right. Buut stil border lined =]

<33

 

Say... Have any of you read 'A Once and Future King' by T.H. White.

It pretty much sums up my views on this topic in the first book.

 

Try to take a few quotes or parts you read from the book and post them here. i'm interested.