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Post by Zero Dade Cool on Jun 8, 2010 8:13:26 GMT -5
Should we have the right to put someone to death?
If a person is guilty of many counts of murder, and we decide to put them to death, are we guilty of the same thing they are?
Are we trying to play God by deciding who stays and who goes?
What are your thoughts?
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Post by Fatal Rewind on Jun 8, 2010 10:08:39 GMT -5
First off, this would be THE perfect post for you to have at post count number 666, but unfortunately you're at 667 as I'm viewing this ;D
Anyway, living in Texas, of course I would be a supporter of the death penalty...until a few years ago. Houston's crime lab has been blasted repeatedly for incorrectly preforming DNA tests. And even though DNA isn't always a 100% slam dunk guarantee court win/proves guilt, it can be a very useful tool for evidence, and many cases have had to be thrown out and people set free because of HPD's nonsense.
Not really going to go into the 'we're playing God' debate though, I don't think many people have that mentality when you take mass murderers into account, I think it's more like a 'they deserved it anyway for the crimes they committed'...having an opinion isn't really being God.
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Post by Malakai the guy on Jun 8, 2010 13:04:49 GMT -5
Its probably done when its too expensive to give someone life in prision... and sometimes they deserve it
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Post by A Dream Is A Wish (Old) on Jun 8, 2010 13:56:19 GMT -5
I don't know of anyone who gets the death penalty unless they've killed someone themselves. (Unless I am mistaken, is there some law in some state that gives people the death penalty for other things?) So it would definitely NOT be unfair to them. They played God just as much as anyone else. They tried to take who would live and who would die into their own hands, but . . . . I think anyone who regularly executes people is going to get kind of messed up because of it. I'm more worried about us and how it makes us feel to do it and how it affects us (are we more cruel because of it?) rather than how it affects the criminals. And it can even be considered a way of immaturely trying to seek revenge. They hurt us, we have to hurt them the same. It's not about safety because we'd be safe from them if they got life imprisonment with no chance of parole. But you also have to think of the other prisoners as well. I have heard about this before. When you put someone in jail for embezzlement and someone in the same cell for murder, you kind of force that embezzler to engage in violent activities in order to protect themselves. They probably wouldn't normally be violent, but when you're in a jail where no one will talk if they see you die, and forced to live with someone who won't respect you unless you fight for your life against them, then sometimes you get involved in certain situations that you otherwise wouldn't have to engage in and therefore face more jail time. So I don't really have a definite opinion either way on this issue. Malakai the guy: I don't know if this is true or not, but I've actually heard that it can be more expensive to put someone to death than it is to keep them in prison for life. Just thought I'd add this to the discussion. |
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Post by Fatal Rewind on Jun 8, 2010 15:35:18 GMT -5
When you put someone in jail for embezzlement and someone in the same cell for murder, you kind of force that embezzler to engage in violent activities in order to protect themselves. Actually I think there are totally separate jails for 'white collar' criminals such as those, but it varies by state, how crowded they are and all. I know the Enron people were sent to white collar prisons, or maybe it was some other big money scam if it wasn't Enron (several of these companies started snowballing to the point where they became a blur to me). Child molesters they have to keep separated from the violent prisoners in general population jails, as I assume they'd want to kick their asses for violating a child half their size while hardened prisoners that robbed a bank and shot up tellers wouldn't be impressed in the least by those cowards. But yeah, you're on the right track though, you can definitely go to jail for bad checks or something and emerge with the knowledge of picking locks and other stuff if you have the right connections while you're there (whee!). Malakai the guy: I don't know if this is true or not, but I've actually heard that it can be more expensive to put someone to death than it is to keep them in prison for life. Just thought I'd add this to the discussion. It might depend on what the method of execution is, if it's the electric chair or injection or whatnot. |
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Post by xea989 on Jun 8, 2010 17:38:25 GMT -5
I'm not sure which is more costly in the USA, but I dont believe in the death penalty. I think it makes you guilty of the same crime you're punishing for.
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Lost in Time
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2010 22:32:25 GMT -5
Should we have the right to put someone to death? If a person is guilty of many counts of murder, and we decide to put them to death, are we guilty of the same thing they are? Are we trying to play God by deciding who stays and who goes? What are your thoughts? Yes- if we put someone to death, I believe we are absolutely as guilty of the same thing they are. It should not be up to us as a society to take someone else's life. Although most are heinous, heartless, criminally minded- murderers, we should not sink down to their level. Also- we live in an imperfect system where people have been wrongly convicted and sent to death row. People are sentenced to death based on circumstantial evidence sometimes. The slight chance of executing an innocent person is not worth the risk. Not when Life Without Parole is just as fitting of a punishment. |
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