The Death Penalty

[angelic_ky]

I'm against it.... who gives someone else the right to kill someone.... it's playing god ...besides I think everything happens for a reason & a person will die when the time comes

[Conf1rm3d_K1ll]

Originally posted by s0nIc
lol well being in the service of the govt for quite some time.. yeah i do agree with death penalty..

I fail to see how being employed by The Government would influence ones decision on the death penalty, unless your the executioner. I too am a Government employee (have been for 13 years!) and all it's left me with is a deep seeded suspicion of Government departments, but thats a whole other story!

Originally posted by {P²P}Apocalypse
I'm against the death penalty. I worked in the TN Dept. of Corrections for 10 1/2 years. I have seen men on death row go free after new evidence was found that proved there inocence.

I think that says it all. Innocent people do get arrested. I wonder how many innocent lives have been taken by Governments? I shudder to think about it...

[shkuey]

An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.

Famous Mahatma Gandhi quote.

To an extent, I agree, people should not be killed by other people. A question I don't see answered though is how much are you willing to sacrifice for your idealism? Gandhi refused to split India into multiple nations, which helped to cause a civil war. There are people who have killed others, freely admit to it, and say they would do it again. People that have been proven a danger even while imprisoned. Is keeping this moral standard worth it if this person kills another man in prison?

[Crimina1]

IMHO, the death penalty should be used for people that kill babies and rape women and child molesters or unprovoked murders.If your gona use the death penalty then it should be used fairly and equal.
Meaning that police and lawenforcement should also be considerd for death when they commit murder or other such crimes.

where I live cops are always getting away with murder and even when they are found guilty they dont get death because somehow thier life is better than the average persons.If your gona enforce such a severe penalty then noone should be exempt,not even the law makers.

Crimina1

[antihaxor]

Originally posted by Negative

If someone raped and killed one of your nieces...shouldn't that person be raped and killed too? I mean, 'the punishment should fit the crime...' That's a sick argument imo, creating an endless circle...

A punishment need not be "quid pro quo" to fit the crime(i.e.rape). To execute such a one eliminates the possibility of him ever doing harm again. When such a one is imprisoned he only spreads his poison to others...perhaps one who is imprisoned for a minor offence.



Should we use your reasoning Negative ,when considering if war is EVER just?
How about defending our home against a criminal invader?

[ac1dsp3ctrum]

Most of these people posting here are right... What gives the government the right to take away someones life... No one has that right..... But if the murderer/criminal violated that.. They should be punished... Just not in that way. Leave them in prison to rot away... Why kill them... Make them suffer by spending the rest of their life inside a 15'x10' cell.... I forgot who said this... But this isnt Hammurabi's code.. Its not an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We have a justice system that should EXCLUDE taking human life!

[antihaxor]

quote:
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Originally posted by {P²P}Apocalypse
I'm against the death penalty. I worked in the TN Dept. of Corrections for 10 1/2 years. I have seen men on death row go free after new evidence was found that proved there inocence.
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I think that says it all. Innocent people do get arrested. I wonder how many innocent lives have been taken by Governments? I shudder to think about it...
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I tell you what makes me shudder Confirmed.....its when a killer gets set free only to kill again.
I am not taking the "Killem all and let God sort them out" attitude. But there are numerous cases of this taking place. I understand your postion to a certain degree.....I just disagree
Personally I would rather be executed than do life without parole( here come the flames)

[MrLinus]

I read through many of these posts. Well thought out. But the question is a hard one to answer unless you've been "victim" so to speak. I was always previously against the Death Penalty as it never made sense.

Until the summer of 1992. My mom was beaten to death by her boyfriend. He used a hammer and bashed her head in (he claimed in court that she attacked him and he was defending himself.. she did this apparently with the back of her head to him..). And this he did in front my sister who was 8 at the time. This summer he gets to ask for parole and eventually walk free.

I would prefer he suffer what my mom did. I would like his family to understand, after they had robbed my mom's place, what losing a loved one is like. This is not a question of innocence. Not all convicts were wrongfully convicted. I would rather he die than live off of my taxes.

But in Canada we got rid of the death penalty (except, I think, in the case of military treason or something). If you asked many of the victims they will probably say they got some closure, even if it's not all of it.

It does bring up the question of the fine line: what do we determine is an extreme case to justify the use of the death penalty? Cop killer? A murder like my mom? Rape and murder? What about the killing of the father during the hockey practise in front of son? There is no clear-cut reasoning to the pros and cons of the death penalty. The question is: if you had to pull the trigger, inject the needle, whatever, could you, in clear conscience, do it?

Anyways, my two cents and POV

[Negative]

Originally posted by Antihaxor
A punishment need not be "quid pro quo" to fit the crime(i.e.rape). To execute such a one eliminates the possibility of him ever doing harm again. When such a one is imprisoned he only spreads his poison to others...perhaps one who is imprisoned for a minor offence.

I hope you were taking that 'rape and kill'-statement of mine how it was meant... (hence the 'that's a sick argument'-part...)

I might have mistaken the 'punishment fit the crime'-statement for the 'an eye for an eye'-statement, but that does not change my point of view... Who decides what the punishment (the punishment that fits the crime, that is) will be anyways? The government? Let's hope not...

And about the execution/imprisonment-case: executing someone will make him/her a martyr in some cultures... Martyrs are pretty strong symbols... Will stop that one person from doing it, but will make an entire generation believe even more in it...

Should we use your reasoning Negative ,when considering if war is EVER just?
How about defending our home against a criminal invader?

My reasoning would be: 'Do not attack that other country/invader.' Period. My reasoning doesn't say anything about defending your own country... The bombardments ordered by Bush didn't have anything to do with 'defense' imo... 'Defending your own country' does NOT equal 'Attacking the other country' ...

[Conf1rm3d_K1ll]

Originally posted by MsMittens

The question is: if you had to pull the trigger, inject the needle, whatever, could you, in clear conscience, do it?

Anyways, my two cents and POV

I've watched a few programs about executioners and alot of them just see it as a normal job- "I've got bills to pay just like everyone else"... True, but I don't kill people to make a living..


Anyway, I'd love to debate the pros and cons with you Miss Mittens, but now that it's become personal (with the murder of your mother, which I am truly sorry about) I'm kinda going to back away from this thread. No, I'm not being a coward, just that you've suffered a tragic loss that I can't truly understand. I'd rather not argue against emotions as it's a battle you can't win. Once again I'm truly sorry.....