Death penalty

[Arthur "Ryogo" Warzick]

so, pro or con?

and why

[circonG]

Obviously depends on the charge but if your just talking for it to exist at all than I'm for it. I don't think moral people should have to pay taxes to pay for the approximately 45k a year that it costs annually on average to have a undeserving man jailed in many cases.

[Andrew]

I don't believe in the death penalty. I just really don't like the whole mob idea behind it. It's like they have no chance if they are innocent. I'm one of those people that thinks you should be able to take the law into your own hands and deal with situations as you see fit.

[Jon Borg]

I've been on both sides of this argument... and I've come to the conclusion that it may be necessary in a larger country like the United States as opposed to a smaller and better controlled country like Belgium or Sweden.Why does size matter? When you get a larger country like the United States full of immigrants thugs and people who easily turn to a life of crime the law becomes MUCH harder to enforce than smaller countries for obvious reasons. Of course I think that the crime should be %100 provable before sentence is carried out. If there is ANY doubt, then he should be put in jail so he may have a chance to come up with a better defense (though you have quite a few years of life before sentence is carried out when you are sentenced to death.)

We all have basic rules of life, don't kill others out of greed or lust. I happen to think killing for revenge or FOR GREAT JUSTICE is a different story, and while it should be punished it does not deserve the sentence of death. But when somebody does something unthinkably horrible, it needs to be known to all that we are not a country that tolerates such horrible action and they must pay the ultimate price.
It actually costs MORE to sentence the death penalty that it does to throw em away for life in the hole. Go figure... but my opinion still stands.

[Josh Kronoff]

I definitely feel that the federal reserve has got to go...or atleast have their power reduced by A LOT. So much corruption in there. When asked where a crap load of money went their answer is "We don't know" or "We can't say"...

...Must I say more? It's time for them to go.

[MiloVice]

I'm pro, but only if we look into a few things first.

1) Costs of Death Penalty vs costs of imprisonment.

Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice: “The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate.

“Death penalty costs Md. more than life term,” by Jennifer McMenamin, The Baltimore Sun, March 6, 2008

Most sites I can find state that the death penalty is more expensive than lifelong imprisonment, though the sources seem to be American left-wing, so it might just be moulding the facts to achieve a goal.

But I doubt it'll be that hard to cut the costs of taking a man's life away.. we should get it done though.

2) It happens (barely, but still) that innocent people go to jail for crimes they did not commit, and several years later are released. I'd say, only if the court is very sure (assuming we are not using one of those retarded jury systems) of guilt, possible only if direct evidence is brought forth, can they sentence a man to death.

3) When do you sentence someone to death? I'd say no to a single murder, but yes to a man that his raped several times.

-Milo

[circonG]

I think if they put some time and effort into making modern executions more fun and interesting enough people would pay enough money to do it themselves / watch it and the money would cover the costs associated with it :)

[MiloVice]

Welcome back to "Whack that bastard", before the break, our contestant's answer was A. Johannes Calvijn, and that answer is correct! *Dingding* You may now spin the wheel of death... and... oh yes... ladies and gentlemen, it looks to be, oh yes, it's death by incineration! Now it's time for you, the people at home, to pick up your phones and call or send a text to our station to choose the executioner! We have A. his victim, B. His lawyer and C. A random person from the audience. The line's open now, don't hesitate to call, we'll be back after these commercials.

That was a funny trail of thought, though your idea sounds a little like Islam's Sharia law, and won't be done for obvious reasons (I tried to keep an open mind, cons outweigh the pros)

[Daniel Cronin]

Hmm..some good points have been brought up in this thread, but still in the end Il always be against it. I mean as far as I see it NOBODY has the right to take a life of another no matter how you try justify it.
Now I know that may sound stupid to some when we are talking about sentencing someone who has commited lets say, 20 murders. In this case I can understand how people would feel that this man/woman must pay for her actions.

Having said that, If you really believe this then Id imagine you would want this person to suffer for what they have done and heres where I guess alot of opinions differ. In my opinion life in prison and I mean LIFE as in not to be released until your dead, is a far more terrifying idea, at least to me, but then again that probably has alot to do with the fact im claustrophobic, but to know you are going to spend the rest of your days on this earth, in a small room, knowing this is your one shot at life and yours is now locked away..well that would drive me insane.

So if you think about it like this then the death penalty can now seem like a release. Also If someone murdered somone I cared about, Id want them to spend there whole life repenting for it.
As for all the pros and cons when it comes to costs of both methods, I really couldnt care less, I mean If in the end a person gets sentanced the death penelty because it was "cheaper" then thats just immoral anyway. But dont get me wrong Im well aware the times we are living in so please dont write this reply off as someones wishes for an ideal world..after all this is just a discussion right ;)

Anyway to sumarise, for me, A life robbed of freedom is a life worse than death.

[MiloVice]

You're right, maybe we should include the opinion of the victim (or his/her friends&relatives) into the sentence. You say you'd like them to repent their whole life, though we should probably be looking less at making the criminal suffer, and more at making the victim / family feel better. I could imagine someone else wanting them to be put down. (This might reduce the fear for rape victims, or just to get a certain 'revenge).

You say you couldn't care less about the costs ('immoral), though that's what our entire society is based on. The only reason we don't have cities on the moon is because the costs outweigh the revenue. (~) Also you say you think that nobody has the right to take a life (pacifist?), yet try and define life, don't you think a judge sentencing a criminal to life in prison is in fact making this man life-less, in a way 'dead'?

-Milo

[Daniel Cronin]

I know that todays society is all based on costs, hence why I added "But dont get me wrong Im well aware the times we are living in.." When I mentioned costs I was just highlighting the fact and how personally I find it sad.
Also I am not a pacifist, I just dont agree with ending a life, thats all. And yes I do agree that judging a criminal to life in prison is in fact in a way to make them lifeless or as you put, in a way "dead" but that was my point, I feel that this form of "death" would be a far more worse for the prisoner, due to the fact that its a far more long-term punishment.

But I do agree also with the point you made about how maybe we should focus more on making the familys and friends of the victims fell better rather than making the prisoner feel worse, but again as you said its all about the society we live in today and as it stands I think the majority of familys would want to feel the prisoner has truley suffered for taking away someone special to them, only then can they get some comfort from the situation. Now dont get me wrong here im not saying everybody feels the same, its just the vibe I get from modern society.