The Death Penalty

Papa Shango

The Death Penalty no longer has a place here in the UK, but there are still many countries that carry it. Sure some methods of execution are more barbaric than others but their intended purpose is to act as a deterrant. And thats where it gets a little hazy considering that some countries which carry the Death Penalty have the highest crime rates in the world.

Some argue that the Death Penalty is in place merely so that the punishment fits the crime but that is not the case. The prison system is a relatively new concept created because people were starting to take offense to the various torture and execution methods which were ONLY in place to deter crime. And like I said earlier, if most of the current carriers of the penalty have the highest crime rates then is there really any point to it?

danksta

if you or someone kills someone, you have the right to be killed.

http://www.mcmullenargus.com/gallery/photos/26775_b.jpg

Miakal

[quote:post_uid0="Papa Shango"]And thats where it gets a little hazy considering that some countries which carry the Death Penalty have the highest crime rates in the world.[/quote:post_uid0]
It's also true, though, that many countries with the death penalty have a much lower crime rate.

Many countries which have the death penalty are third world countries. It's difficult to predict what is best for these countries. For example, they may have a high crime rate with a death penalty but then again they may have an even higher one without it. Who is to say?

In America it depends on state. A couple of years ago there was a study which found an unreasonable amount of black people being put to death. Also in the report, it showed that many people who were put to death were later proven to be innocent.

My personal opinion is that it sets off a bad line of values to have the death penalty. If the government is saying it's okay to kill people, then how is it not okay for someone else to?

Killing a person will never give justice to a situation. If someone killed your mom, she isn't going to come back through his death, and it will never change any of the initial facts. A death of another will never give way to a better society, it will never help anyone.

It's funny that after the deaths of Jesus Christ and Socrates and many, many other gerat enlightened figures that we still have this system in place.

Justice is just a fancy way of saying revenge. And when has revenge ever been a virtue?

Bouchie

As long as it's 100% proven that the person is a murderer then they need to die. It's only fair. The worst thing that can happen is if they go ahead with the death penalty, only to find out later that the person was innocent.

Quack Handle

Do you not think that a lifetime in prison of doing nothing, is much more of a punishment, then being killed, because you get the easy way out. Also people can be proved innocent afterwards and many blacks are victimised.

icecube

It all comes down to the mighty dollar. I don't personally believe in the death penalty. I don't however like the fact that my tax dollars are being spent to keep murderers alive. There are situations where the punishment fits the crime. The snipers in the DC area deserve the death penalty. They carried out premeditated attacks. I don't feel that someone who gets into a fight with another person and punches them in a way that kills them should be treated the same way and killed. But I don't like paying to support them. I wish we could have inmates who are guilty of violent crimes put to a good use, maybe building ramps for handicapped people, reading books on tape for blind people, or something. I am sure there is a way to make criminals productive in society.

Disco Raheem

[quote:post_uid0="icecube"] But I don't like paying to support them. I wish we could have inmates who are guilty of violent crimes put to a good use, maybe building ramps for handicapped people, reading books on tape for blind people, or something. I am sure there is a way to make criminals productive in society.[/quote:post_uid0]
Prisoners can be put to work on farms and such for as little as 2 cents an hours. That more than covers costs of keeping them.

Quack Handle

Or send them to a third world country, and take one of the third world kids and bring them to America!

Bouchie

lol. Sort of like a third world entry draft to the US?

Miakal

[quote:post_uid0="icecube"]It all comes down to the mighty dollar. I don't personally believe in the death penalty. I don't however like the fact that my tax dollars are being spent to keep murderers alive.[/quote:post_uid0]
Icecube, that's actually not true. There's been various studies which have shown that it costs MORE to put someone to death then it does to keep them in prison. Why? Legal costs. To put someone to death you need two hearings, and a bunch other crap as well. Who do you think pays for all the lawyer fees?