Do you believe in the death penalty?

As said in the title, do you believe in the death penalty? - and why?

I for one live in Australia and am strongly FOR the death penalty. We do not have it here which I'm not a fan of but i belive America does have it.

Some may argue that it is better to let them "rot in jail". Perhaps this is true but for the more intense criminals, eg: rapists I believe they should just die and go get raped by the demon

Just seeing the news in Australia and the crap that goes on and what people get away with absolutely pushes my buttons to put it softly. Like I saw something on the news where a man raped a girl when he was 17, spend 5 years in jail. Came out, 1 week later raped another women, spent 20 years in jail. At the age of 42 he got back and yes...he raped another women. He was then jailed 'for life' suposedly. Took their f**king time.

I'm no genius buts thats just wrong. Comment away

 

I am against it man. No one has the right to take your life, and the bible says that. Believe me, the ones who sentence people to death penalty are surely rotting in hell.

 

Every individual is born a genius. You can't significantly reduce crime by harsh dicipline and fear, as the death sentence. If you want to reduce crime you'll need to grasp the issue by its root, which is a political question of integration, not more police funding or harsher prison sentences. In other words, the best way to combat crime is to prevent the creation of new criminals instead of "killing them off". The justice system in the US doesn't work; the majority of people who are imprisoned resort to crime again. The prisons do not rehabilitate the prisoners in order to assist them in adapting to society, they're just a huge "fuck you", which further provokes the hatred of authorities in groups of society riddled with violence.

How is killing someone in order to demonstrate that killing is wrong going to get you anywhere?

 

It's unjust. Taking the life of a criminal is the easy way out. The system is too subjective and because of that their thought process isn't being logical. Maybe it's austere to sentence someone to death, rather than to send that person to life. It's all really viewed at a political standpoint which is sad.

 

Taking the criminal's life hinders their family's lives more than theirs. They have a painless death and no longer have to feel remorse. Locking these criminals up for years on end is a far worse punishment in my opinion.

I do wish the UK sentences were harsher, murderers are let out after 7/8 years sometimes.

 

While I am not really a fan of the death penalty I would prefer jails to be a lot tougher. While they are pretty shit in comparison to everyday life, I remember watching a documentary of a South African prison. The living conditions were very poor in there and as a result, there was only a re-offending rate of around 2%. In western society, some people just re-offend because jail is all they know and they continue to squeeze tax money from us.

 

So, you let some American go on a spree and kills 50+ People in the shopping mall because his insane and mentally ill. "Oh just put him in prison for life no biggie" While over 500 people are affected due to the loss of there loved ones. And he gets to sit in jail looking at a wall. Where his family still know there son that murdered 50 people still loves, when the victims family have to sit there and figure out why it happened to there family member. Uhm, id rather the murders family suffer hell. Then 500+ Family members suffer hell from 50 people being shot in the mall and dying.

 

Re-offending rates do not decrease upon harsher prison conditions, they increase. Your example is bullshit, please refer me to your source. Have a look at the global prison conditions and you'll see that the re-offending rates in prisons are universally lower in milder justice systems where more "tax money" is being spent on "re-habilitating" the inmates. Throw a man in a hole for ten years and he'll be isolated from all aspects of society, and the day he gets out there will be no possibilities for him to integrate into society, which leaves the individual no other choice than to continue his career in crime. Educate that same individual and present him with a possibility to contribute to society and he'll have a choice of going back to crime, or being a valuable asset to his nation. Would everyone have the possibility to contribute, there would be significantly less crime, this claim supported by a vast amount of research

You're looking at this from an extremely superficial and biased mindset. Why should an entire family suffer for actions of an individual? Do you really think that would make anyone feel better?

 

well this received some attention, thanks for the posts guys !

 

I agree that we shouldn't have it, but your argument is pretty poor. We shouldn't combine religion with law - it leads to so many problems.

The guilty family doesn't suffer at all? Their brother/father/cousin/uncle is in jail for murder. And besides, why should they suffer? They didn't murder anyone. Would you want to be blamed/want to suffer for your dad/brother/cousin/uncle's mistakes?

Yes, it's a tragedy that '50' families should have to suffer. I'm not disputing that. But causing more suffering doesn't make it any less. The only one that should suffer for the crime besides obviously the victims is the killer. Who would suffer more being in a cell for 40 years than being put to death.

 

I agree with it. In the UK you're not even doing 20 years for a murder, rape or child related crimes.

Any of that should be punishable by death. How the hell can you justify a pedophile walking free with your children and family around after serving half of a 10 year sentence on good behavior? I'm all for the death penalty on cases like this, if all the evidence is there and correct and the proof if undeniable.

Don't give them an injection though, or put them in an electric chair, as has been said it's all pain free. Torture the filth.

 

I agree with it when there are absolutely no doubts that the individual DID commit the crime. All too often, our current system makes mistakes.

Until then, I don't agree with it.

 

I am against it. Not for moral reasons, but because it is just an easy way out... A true life sentence without the chance of parol is much worse than death imo.

Also I would hate to see someone innocent put to death and then the real killer is caught. It has happened a few times.

 

I agree with it, proud my state uses it.

Why spend another dime on criminals locked up for a life sentence anyways that yourr certain the crime was committed? Take 'em out.. make room for the others.

 

you do understand that the government spends more tax dollars on death row inmates than they do on prisoners not sentenced to death.

 

My thoughts exactly spending your life in a jail cell s much worse than a quick death. Also gives them a chance to reevaluate their verdict if a mistake was made.

 

I'm pretty sure they would do that in the US if it didn't cost thousands to feed + provide a roof to + necessary healthcare to someone who's going to be in prison until they die.

I'm personally indifferent on it. If you take another person's life but later realise what you've done, then having to live with that is worse than a death sentence in my opinion.

However if you murder someone and feel no remorse or feeling to the person or their family, then I don't see what the point of chucking them in prison is.

 

Yes. Being from Texas, I might be a little more opinionated in my views. But to me, instead of MY damn taxes going towards feeding, sheltering, and providing for inmates that have raped children...murdered dozens of people in schools, blown up buildings and so forth, I'd MUCH rather the sorry SOB be put down and taken out of society. I feel better knowing that I'm not working and paying taxes to provide these people with a home for the rest of their life...even if it's in a penitentiary.

 

Precisely this. The only problem I see is how people who are busted for selling or using a small amount of drugs gets put into jail in the same conditions as criminals like murderers. Not to mention it would be tougher for someone that committed a petty offense. A murderer's life in jail would be easier than someone who committed a petty offense. In other words, the one that commit the petty offense is basically taking a harsher punishment, difference is the time.

Id like there to be different levels of the living conditions of people in jail, obviously the harshest for the ones that commit the worst crimes. But this is the only way I would really be against the death penalty, as cruel says after this post, prison is like a second home for some people. Making it harsher, making them suffer, by degrading their living conditions based on their crimes could strip them of their comfortability in prison. There are people who aren't even rotting a jail that are committing/attempting suicide. There is no doubt a criminal would prefer death over decades of rotting in jail if their living conditions were to suit their crimes. I think making them suffer in worse conditions, as jack goff said about africa, is better than time where more money would be spent on the prisoners.

 

That is arguable. Prison is almost like a second home for career criminals. In addition, prison life is the only thing they know if they have been locked up for an abundance of time. Many prominent members of organized crime operate inside of these facilities as well, and corruption is also a major lingering issue.

It's almost an assault on reality to think that prison is conducted with the utmost professionalism and a hidden agenda isn't present.