Thread: what do you think about the death penalty?

Questions like this are the reason that I do not believe in universal concrete moral standards.

Murdering murderers does seem counter-intuitive but on the other hand if someone takes a life, they obviously dont respect life so why should their right to live be respected? I don't necessarily support the death penalty but I also don't really like murderers so

Originally Posted by stormcrow

Murdering murderers does seem counter-intuitive but on the other hand if someone takes a life, they obviously dont respect life so why should their right to live be respected? I don't necessarily support the death penalty but I also don't really like murderers so

I kinda feel the same way. But I value every life as equal regardless, I don't support it, it doesn't make me happy knowing someone died, but I dunno, its sorta tough

death is very interesting , also we dont know what will happen when we die..

someone say so ,
someone say something different ,
religion says the more different what will happen.

its just too Mysterious to find out what happens after death , you may wake up in other life turn to a animal or whatever who knows .
so i think death is normal and right cus gettin older and more older , what would u do being so old ? sure u want to leave but there is an end for everything and its natural u cant change it .

also what most ppl think after death is paradise or hell ... i think its like a dream . if u were good in ur life u and u havent done alot of bad things u will go in a peace place and so..
if u were allways doing bad stuff , fighting people stress with family and everything then u might go somewhere else .
thats just what i think cus i think everything comes by ur self , its ur choice where to go =)



Sry for my bad english =D
KarLi*

The death penalty shouldn't exist, those people can be put to better use.

Eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind, etc.

But really I just don't think anyone/anything has the right to decide on the question of someone else's life. No matter what.

we dont deceide on the question of someone else's life , we just discuss what we think about it =)

I think the world is a better place without certain people in it. I'm not particularly opposed to killing such people.

However, I am against the death penalty. Not because of moral concerns (though the current methods of execution do trouble me - why not asphyxiate with an inert gas? Current methods seem inhumane), but for pragmatic ones. Namely that when miscarriages of justice occur, whether that's due to corruption, or aggressive prosecution that cares not for the truth but achieving the prosecution itself, then the end result is worse off.

If someone is wrongly jailed, then the verdict can at least be partially corrected. But it won't bring an innocent man back to life.

But I value every life as equal regardless

Why? People are not equal. Their deeds and actions are not equal. Their effects on society are not equal.

When you equate the best humanity has to offer with the value of the worst it can provide, you cheapen the lives of good people.

Originally Posted by Photolysis

I think the world is a better place without certain people in it. I'm not particularly opposed to killing such people.

However, I am against the death penalty. Not because of moral concerns (though the current methods of execution do trouble me - why not asphyxiate with an inert gas? Current methods seem inhumane), but for pragmatic ones. Namely that when miscarriages of justice occur, whether that's due to corruption, or aggressive prosecution that cares not for the truth but achieving the prosecution itself, then the end result is worse off.

If someone is wrongly jailed, then the verdict can at least be partially corrected. But it won't bring an innocent man back to life.



Why? People are not equal. Their deeds and actions are not equal. Their effects on society are not equal.

When you equate the best humanity has to offer with the value of the worst it can provide, you cheapen the lives of good people.

because we all deserve a chance. we are all people. we are all the same if you think about it, sure some people do horrible things, but it doesn't mean they should be treated as worthless and complete shit

I don't really like incarceration either; locking people in cages.

However, eventually you get to a point where you have to ask the question: What kind of adequate punishment IS humane?

In an ideal world we would be able to rehabilitate these kinds of people, and show them the error of their ways and whatever...
...but does that take away free will?

I know that this is a little off-topic, because this thread is about the MORAL implications, but I found this to be interesting, if it is accurate:

Costs of the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center
•Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present (death penalty) system to be $137 million per year.
•The cost of the present system with reforms recommended by the Commission to ensure a fair process would be $232.7 million per year.
•The cost of a system in which the number of death-eligible crimes was significantly narrowed would be $130 million per year.
•The cost of a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty would be $11.5 million per year.

Originally Posted by sloth

I don't really like incarceration either; locking people in cages.

However, eventually you get to a point where you have to ask the question: What kind of adequate punishment IS humane?

In an ideal world we would be able to rehabilitate these kinds of people, and show them the error of their ways and whatever...
...but does that take away free will?

I agree, I think people need to be rehabilitated, but what if they don't want to...exactly....I don't know D:

erible it's terrible.

Originally Posted by Jeff777

erible it's terrible.

Jeff777 it's the opposite of heaven

you rhymer, you

See... this is so hard to answer... I seem to agree with getting 'revenge' with the murderer. kill my mother i'll kill you sorta thing....

But death penalities.... hellz no :/

I don't believe in the death penalty. No one has the right to take a life, no matter what they did. But I think SOME kind of beneficial rehabilitation is in order. If you don't want those kind of people in our society, send them to another country..a third world country.
Let them deal with their own demons at night when they sleep. Killing them only relieves them of their suffering and makes us no better than them.

I have no idea whatsoever why this is so hard to answer. What are the arguments for it?

An eye for an eye? Nobody ever heard that? Capital punishment is a purely emotional reaction. The only reason is revenge. By engaging in this behaviour we demean ourselves as humans and become animals; how can you possibly serve justice by denying the most crucial human character, that of rationality, temperament, and forgiveness? This kind of barbaric, unthinking reflex is the major source of all violence in the world today, anybody with the slightest faculty of discernment knows this.

Not to mention the absolute fucking no-brainer, don't give the state, a fallible and often duplicitous entity, the power to kill you.

For fuck's sake you people, the entirety of the rest of the Western world and half of the developing world has had this figured out for decades. Catch the fuck up.

Spoiler for Because North Africa and China are such fantastic fucking role models:

Blue: abolished
Green: except exceptional circumstances
Orange: legal but not used for at least 10 years
Red: doing it all the fucking time

I'm against the death penalty because it is extremely expensive (so I hear) and because there's always the possibility that they got the wrong guy.

However, if the eyes of justice were all-seeing and incorruptible, I can see no reason why we wouldn't put the worst of criminals to death. It would be a resource-efficient way to eliminate risk.

I support the Death Penalty. Criminals, specially the serial killers and such, should get what's coming for them. Though, I would put in some sort of system to there would be a 5-10 year period before it actually happens, just to be sure they have the right guy. Also, perhaps exceptions for the ones who aren't in the right state of mind.

I'm definitively against it. There are many practical reasons why (Could have gotten the wrong guy, it's expensive, studies show prejudice is an important factor in whether or not you'll be sentenced to it, etc), but most importantly I just don't see how a self-respecting country can figure it's all right to kill people.

In a perfect world where it could be absolutely undoubtedly certain that nobody ever got falsely accused, that no person ever was punished because he / she was innocent, I would be for it for some extreme crimes such as intentional murders, months long abuse towards someone, etc. However, that perfect world does not exist, and therefore I'm against it.

EDIT: It should also be considered that ones religious beliefs play a role in whether they think the death penalty should be allowed or not

Even if you could be certain; are you really saying you'd kill this guy?

But who's going to kill the executor?

Originally Posted by Marvo

But who's going to kill the executor?

Please don't make that argument.

I'd say in a metaphorical sense it's totally pertinent.

Since when is the function of society to 'reduce risk in a resourceful manner'? That argument by itself is nonsense; how about we ban all cars? Yes society should reduce hazards to citizens, but you're supposed to take into consideration what is a reasonable and moral approach, not what costs less.

I'm very surprised the open minded, liberal population of DV is so illiberal. I guess that's just the inevitable consequence of being surrounded by people who are nuts; you say you're open minded but in reality you have been percolated by it. Visit Europe some time and try to find somebody who won't think you're a bit wrong in the head. Or Russia, or Mexico, South America, Canada, Japan, Australia; basically anywhere that isn't China, the Middle East, or some fucked up, corrupt hellhole like Zambia. These are the people you're siding with; the only people. Some role models, huh?

How did this even happen in the free world? A country supposedly renowned for its veneration of the liberty of the individual over the collective?