Death penalty - Your opinion

[Pogo]

I support the death penalty for first degree murder, and any killing that is done while committing a felony. I would also personally like to see it extended to child molesters.

The key reason I support capital punishment has to do with the comfort and well being of the victim's family members. Once a family loses a loved once to senseless violence, they no doubt experience an enormous amount of pain and suffering. Knowing that their killer will face a capital murder charge, helps ease the pain somewhat.

Doesn't that assume that every victim wants lethal revenge?

 

[martybegan]

That was "of Jesus" and in the name of the Emperor of Rome, but nice try.

Seem to remember Jesus' name being mentioned there somewhere

Another improper execution by conservatives

In God's name.

 

[martybegan]

I support the death penalty for first degree murder, and any killing that is done while committing a felony. I would also personally like to see it extended to child molesters.

The key reason I support capital punishment has to do with the comfort and well being of the victim's family members. Once a family loses a loved once to senseless violence, they no doubt experience an enormous amount of pain and suffering. Knowing that their killer will face a capital murder charge, helps ease the pain somewhat.

Doesn't that assume that every victim wants lethal revenge?

No, what it assumes that for the State to keep control over the levers of punishment it must rise to the level of punishment expected by the victims and the survivors of the victims.

If the punishment meted out becomes less that what is expected, people will take justice into their own hands, and that is what a criminal justice system tries to prevent.

 

[eflatminor]

Another improper execution by central planners

There, fixed that for ya...

Seeing as how that execution was for insurrection, that was the State.

Yes it was.

The same entity that some would award the power of taking lives for the DP, supposedly after a "criminal investigation and trial", which of course is a process that is never abused.
And there's my point.

And it's a fair point.

 

[DGS49]

(a) The death penalty is not "morally wrong." The arrogance of such a statement is breathtaking. We have a hundred thousand years of human history where it is universally accepted that the Soveriegn can, after due process, take the life of society's most heinous felons. And now, assholes with a view of history that is about as deep as a petrie dish make moral pronouncements about its morality. Truly, a dope slap is warranted but I'm not sure how to do that electronically.

(b) This country does not - and should not - give a shit what other countries do with their criminals. There is NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD with exactly the same social, structural, legal, and constitutional constraints as this country. We can choose our own way, thank you very much. And the LAST place we should emulate is the EU.

(c) Most countries that have eliminated the DP are also countries where the majority of the population support it. They are countries where the Ruling Elite have the ability to dictate what is "Right" for the population, regardless of what the population wants. Fortunately, we don't operate that way. Indeed, if we were to hold a referendum on abolishing the DP in the U.S., it would be roundly rejected by the overall population, as well as the individual populations of every non-socialist state in the union.

(d) A nation should either have the DP or not have the DP. Our fuckedupedness is contained in the fact that we pretend to have a death penalty, but for all practical purposes (except in Texas) it is a fucking joke. As I have written above, this is why I think it should be abolished - by Constituitonal Amendment, and not because some fucking governor or judge doesn't like it.

 

[eflatminor]

Another improper execution by central planners

There, fixed that for ya...

Actually, they were Republicans

Actually, you couldn't be more wrong. The Roman Republic ended when Ceasar took over as dictator (you know, a central planner), which took place decades before Jesus was even born.

Get thee a history book!

 

[Peterf]

Hello guys,
I'm doing a research for school at the moment with the topic "Death penalty in America". The main part of it should be a comparison between german/european and american attitudes.
So here's my question, do you approve or do you deny and why?

I'd highly appreciate if you could post your opinions here.

By the way,
the reason for making a new topic even though it's already on the board is because my teacher mentioned i have to prove that I collected those information by myself.

Hi Charly. I can help with the European attitudes bit. There is no political party in Sweden which would even consider reintroducing the death penalty. I think the same is true in Germany - it certainly is in the UK.

In the UK, but not in Sweden, there is a fair sized chunk of public opinion in favour of the death penalty but there is not the slightest chance they will get their way.

Good luck with your research!

 

[Jughead]

Most of the world has abandoned the Death Penalty....so should the US

A country cannot join the EU if it has the death penalty.

Russia does not have a death penalty. Neither does Canada or Mexico

In terms of active use of the death penalty it is the US, China, N Korea and the Islamic states

Fine company

Some of the Islamic countries are strong allies, like Jordan, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Indonesia. All of which have the death penalty.

Then there is Japan, India and Singapore, all have the death penalty.

 

[Jughead]

I support the death penalty for first degree murder, and any killing that is done while committing a felony. I would also personally like to see it extended to child molesters.

The key reason I support capital punishment has to do with the comfort and well being of the victim's family members. Once a family loses a loved once to senseless violence, they no doubt experience an enormous amount of pain and suffering. Knowing that their killer will face a capital murder charge, helps ease the pain somewhat.

Doesn't that assume that every victim wants lethal revenge?

Not really. The justice system should not be intended to accommodate a convicted killer. It should try and accommodate the victim and where applicable the victim's family members.

 

[Pogo]

I support the death penalty for first degree murder, and any killing that is done while committing a felony. I would also personally like to see it extended to child molesters.

The key reason I support capital punishment has to do with the comfort and well being of the victim's family members. Once a family loses a loved once to senseless violence, they no doubt experience an enormous amount of pain and suffering. Knowing that their killer will face a capital murder charge, helps ease the pain somewhat.

Doesn't that assume that every victim wants lethal revenge?

No, what it assumes that for the State to keep control over the levers of punishment it must rise to the level of punishment expected by the victims and the survivors of the victims.

If the punishment meted out becomes less that what is expected, people will take justice into their own hands, and that is what a criminal justice system tries to prevent.

I'm afraid you've evaded the question and then reinforced its premise. Revenge has nothing to do with 'control' -- it's emotion. And your second sentence still assumes the same thing - that a desire for lethal revenge is universal. But it isn't.

 

[Pogo]

(a) The death penalty is not "morally wrong." The arrogance of such a statement is breathtaking. We have a hundred thousand years of human history where it is universally accepted that the Soveriegn can, after due process, take the life of society's most heinous felons. And now, assholes with a view of history that is about as deep as a petrie dish make moral pronouncements about its morality. Truly, a dope slap is warranted but I'm not sure how to do that electronically.

^^ Says a different opinion is "arrogance" .... and proceeds to term its holders "assholes" with the "depth of a petri dish" who need a "dope slap".

Absolutists...

 

[Disir]

The State does not just accommodate the victims. It assumes the role of the victim.

 

[RKMBrown]

Hello guys,
I'm doing a research for school at the moment with the topic "Death penalty in America". The main part of it should be a comparison between german/european and american attitudes.
So here's my question, do you approve or do you deny and why?

I'd highly appreciate if you could post your opinions here.

By the way,
the reason for making a new topic even though it's already on the board is because my teacher mentioned i have to prove that I collected those information by myself.

I'm against it because I think they should be forced to pay their debt to society. For example, put them on a chain gang of convicted murderers. Make them work for food, shelter, and security. If they have a net balance that money could go to minimal medical care and the victims families. But if we won't put them on chain gangs... yeah ok hang em in the public square. I don't like secretive killings any more than drone killings. If your gonna do something do it in the light of day.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Hello guys,
I'm doing a research for school at the moment with the topic "Death penalty in America". The main part of it should be a comparison between german/european and american attitudes.
So here's my question, do you approve or do you deny and why?

I'd highly appreciate if you could post your opinions here.

By the way,
the reason for making a new topic even though it's already on the board is because my teacher mentioned i have to prove that I collected those information by myself.

I don't like it for several reasons. However, incidents occur when there is no other option.

Don't let anyone tell you it is about "justice", because nothing can be repaired by judicial extinction of life. The argument for deterrence is equally flawed, because if you will look up some of the works on the subject, you will find that the killing of one criminal often does not deter other criminals.

The real reactions for it is either for vengeance or for societal protection. Look up the definitions.

 

[rightwinger]

DOES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT RESTRAIN? - Interesting Excerpts from New Jersey Report Giving Testimony of the Various States as to Its Efficacy in Preventing Crime. - View Article - NYTimes.com

 

[Pennywise]

I support it and support the inclusion of certain crimes that are not now subject, most especially crimes of sexual sadism, any sex crime involving a child, drug trafficking and manufacture, attempted murder(I fail to see why the ineptness of the perp should reduce the possible sentence), severe child or elder abuse, and white collar crimes to the degree of a Bernie Madoff.

 

[Katzndogz]

Most of the world has abandoned the Death Penalty....so should the US

A country cannot join the EU if it has the death penalty.

Russia does not have a death penalty. Neither does Canada or Mexico

In terms of active use of the death penalty it is the US, China, N Korea and the Islamic states

Fine company

Russia does not have a death penalty. They just have an unfortunate incidence of inmate deaths while in custody.

 

[martybegan]

Hello guys,
I'm doing a research for school at the moment with the topic "Death penalty in America". The main part of it should be a comparison between german/european and american attitudes.
So here's my question, do you approve or do you deny and why?

I'd highly appreciate if you could post your opinions here.

By the way,
the reason for making a new topic even though it's already on the board is because my teacher mentioned i have to prove that I collected those information by myself.

I don't like it for several reasons. However, incidents occur when there is no other option.

Don't let anyone tell you it is about "justice", because nothing can be repaired by judicial extinction of life. The argument for deterrence is equally flawed, because if you will look up some of the works on the subject, you will find that the killing of one criminal often does not deter other criminals.

The real reactions for it is either for vengeance or for societal protection. Look up the definitions.

Deterrence is to prevent MORE people from jumping into the criminal pool. It assumes that some people will just commit crimes no matter what the punishment, but the concept is that if you set a punishment for some behavior it will prevent a certain portion of the population from performing the behavior.

If we didn't have a punishment for something like parking illegally, how many people would ignore the law on parking in front of say, a fire hydrant. The point isn't that the punishment eliminates the pool of people willing to do something "bad" its that it reduces the pool of people who are willing to do something bad down to a smaller number.

 

[rightwinger]

A country cannot join the EU if it has the death penalty.

Russia does not have a death penalty. Neither does Canada or Mexico

In terms of active use of the death penalty it is the US, China, N Korea and the Islamic states

Fine company

Russia does not have a death penalty. They just have an unfortunate incidence of inmate deaths while in custody.

We lead the world in incarceration

 

[Pogo]

Indeed, if we were to hold a referendum on abolishing the DP in the U.S., it would be roundly rejected by the overall population, as well as the individual populations of every non-socialist state in the union.

Leaving aside the obvious slant of "every non-socialist state in the union" (as if socialism somehow has something to do with the topic), the numbers here aren't showing such a trend. It would have been handy if the OP included a poll but failing that I've counted up responses so far:

DP YES: Delta4Embassy, Disir, Katzndogz, Martybegan, Meathead, DGS49l, Big Black Dog, Jughead, Pennywise (9)

DP NO: Spiderman, Strollingbones, Boedicca, Pogo, Rightwinger, Chickenwing, George Costanza, RKMBrown (8)

Not voting or not fittable into yes or no: C Clayton Jones, NoNukes, Eflatminor, Peterf, JakeStarkey

Not looking like a 'round rejection' so far, or even a square one.