Capital Punishment...interesting take.

In my reading I came across this excerpt which I really liked.

“Killing someone for having murdered is punishment infinitely more terrible than being killed by bandits. Whoever is murdered by bandits, knifed at night in the woods or somewhere like that, inevitably hopes until the very last moment that he will save himself. There have been cases of people with their throats already slit still hoping, or running away, or pleading. But here all final hope, with which it is ten times easier to die, is removed for certain; here there is a sentence, and in the very fact that there is certainly no escape from it all the horrible suffering lies, and there is no suffering on earth greater than this. Take a soldier and put him in front of a cannon in the midst of battle and shoot him, he will still hope; but read this same soldier a death sentence which I certain, and he will lose his mind or begin to cry. Who could say that human nature can endure such a trial without slipping into madness? Why this ghastly, needless, useless outrage? Perhaps there is a man to whom the death sentence was read and who was allowed to suffer and then was told, ‘Go. You are pardoned.’ Perhaps such a man could tell us something. “

He goes on to talk about how each second before execution is an eternity...more interesting stuff there, but let's stay with one topic. Basically, I think he's pointing out that the mental torture of execution is far worse than dieing. That physical tortue might even be better since it would keep your mind off of your impending doom.

So, this angle gets at how it's inhumane. What do you think, from a philisophical stand point I mean. I'm not looking for someone to say, "Murderers had their chance!" I'm hoping for your evaluation of the previous. Can you imagine what it would be like to be executed? Everything that goes through your mind right up to the very last second?

So umm, discuss. And let me stop any religious zealots from Texas with the sixth commandment...

 

I think being locked up for life is good enough, but I believe capital punishment is just for international terrorism crimes or war crimes (such as genocide).

 

I agree with the article. Living locked up like an animal for years knowing the inevitable would drive you crazy.


I wrote that line above, then i sat back and thought about what it would be like to know you are going to die. I can honestly say id be scared shitless in these circumstances and would try my best to kill myself before they could have the pleasure.

Just wondering what the "death" experience would be like is almost too much to grasp. I can assume that most victims of capital punishment are blank and emotionless while going to die just because they can't even comprehend it.

seriously, sit back in your chair, and think, what if i just got sentenced to death?





EDIT:: I just had an idea of what it might be like to get lethally injected. Its like, if any of you have ever popped pills and right after you take them, you feel a little different even though you know your not feeling the affect from them. Then your mind wonders how long until you start to feel them kick in or start to feel high but instead of wondering how long until you feel high, your wondering "how long until i start to die?" you'd be constantly trying to tell if you feel any different and looking for any signs that you've convinced yourself you might see or feel when you're dying. Slowly feeling your body start to shut down.

how anyone could endure that is beyond me

 

I heard that countries with capital punishment have higher crime rates than countries, which do not have capital punishment. I don't know if it is entirely true though.

My take on capital punishment, is that it shouldn't be used unless there is a strong reason, e.g. terrorists, mass murderers, people with multiple offences etc. That way, it can just act as a sort of deterence for criminals, as they know they could still face death if they commited a crime.

 

murder and rape are both so disgusting to take the life for someone or defile someone in such a way..
they don't deserve to walk this earth again i wish there was capital punishment in england.
if someone had killed someone under the correct circumstances pressure,mental damage etc fair enough but cold blooded killing nahh they should b killed

 

It's hard to decide what is right and wrong, its up for society to decide that. Murder is wrong now, but 200 years from now it could be a commonly accept practice.

Either way, capital punishment...hmm...a life for a life seems understandable in my opinion. Yes its true "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" but you have to admit, at a certain period, someones gonna stop taking eyes.

It's also a good thing from a financial standpoint. Yes it's true that with appeals and the actual killing itself, will cost a hefty sum but compared to the overall cost of house of an inmate (just a regular inmate costs well over 50 grand a year and it only increases with the status and violent behavior of the prisoner.

When we take morality into an equation of whether or not to make the right decision, it almost always weighs down the worst decision. If only humans thought things through on a more logical standpoint things would be so much easier.

 

I believe that only the worst crimes (murder, rape, et al.) should be punishable by death.