Should Capital Punishment be allowed? - In which countries?

[I LOVE HO CHI MINH]

Are some crimes impossible to tolerate? Perhaps killing goes to far.

[I Will Deny You]

Giving someone a 25-years-to-life sentence isn't exactly tolerating their crime. The problem when you start giving people the death penalty is that it will begin to focus the justice system more on punishment than rehabilitation. I'm not saying that all criminals should get a free ride, but rehabilitation is what society needs much more than the simple satisfaction of seeing someone fry. And for every unrepentant murderer who does not pretend to be innocent and does not plead for his life (such as Timothy McVeigh) there are ten Mumias. Vox started a thread on one of the many innocent men on death row recently. And even when a man is not innocent and does not deny his horrible crime (I'm just saying man because the vast majority of people on death row are men, I'm not trying to be sexist), is it still okay to kill him? There was a good article in The Nation a few months ago about a man who committed murder and isn't saying that he should have been handed a Get Out Of Jail Free card. But he has served for years and years already. He has helped other prisoners and has rehabilitated himself within the confines of his prison. The death penalty, when used in murder cases, seems to imply that life is disposable. When the government says that a person does not deserve to live anymore, all of a sudden judges and lawyers are playing G-d. (I don't even want G-d to play G-d, much less a bunch of lawyers!) Another thing that must be mentioned is racism. Black and hispanic people have died for crimes that white men would not have died for. Also, in many cases the death penalty is being used too much even for your average Republican . . . execution of the mentally retarded is unacceptable.

In certain situations, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity where the defendants are undoubtedly guilty of killing thousands or even millions of people, I am not anti-death penalty. But the way that it is used in the United States and China is disgusting.

[CheGuevara]

I oppose the death penalty for common criminals simply because of the difficulties in accurately and fairly administering it(black and hispanic people are executed for crimes that whites are not). I don't really care terribly about the ethics of it, although I feel that lethal injection is inhumane and I think they should do it by firearm(the lethal injection process seems slow and the idea of collapsing someone's lungs seems fairly inhumane to me; bullets would also probably be a lot cheaper)

After the revolution, there will be certain members of the capitalist hierarchy with which we'll have to, ahem ahem, deal.

[BOZG]

bullets would also probably be a lot cheaper)

You can never put a price on someone's life



collapsing someone's lungs seems fairly inhumane to me

So does leaving their body full of holes. Any form of murder is inhumane.


No person has the RIGHT to take a life under any circumstances and thus no one should ever be purposely killed. And anyway how the fuck do you justify murdering a killer to show that killing is wrong?

[Fires of History]

I completely disagree with capital punishment, it is nothing but giving the state the right to murder. And it's hypocritical, it's like saying, "Killing someone is a crime that is so wrong that we have to kill you now."

Also, and mostly, because justice is based on humans, and humans aren't perfect; therefore, to me, justice is never perfect. Which means inevitably that innocent people will be convicted wrongly. They have shown in the U$ how several people who were executed were later proven innocent, I'll go find that info tomorrow.

[Fabi]

also i think it is really ironic that u can be sentenced to death age 18 and younger, but you can neither vote nor drink nor a lot of other things...

you cant take responsibility for yourself, but you are responsible for what you do? i dont think that makes sense....

also i think even more than rehabilitation prevention is important..... (dont want to get into that right now... too tired...)

(Edited by Fabi at 4:54 pm on May 1, 2002)

[revolutionary spirit]

i am against capital punishment.For example,how does killing a person who has killed someone show that killing is wrong?It doesn't.

Even if there was a revolution we shouldn't pass the death sentence.Though,i could quite easily understand if,let's say,the Queen,or maybe rupert murdoch or someone were to be killed in the ''cross-fire''.As terrible as that maybe i think i would struggle on with living with that.

[Hattori Hanzo]

people who kill need help, not to be placed so far below the rest of us so as to be seen as not deserving of life!
republicans are so self-contradictory

[liderDeFARC]

You shouldnt kill people, because you wouldnt like to get killed...........

[CheGuevara]

If you shoot at the right places, i.e. mainly any place on the head except the mouth, unless you're using too small a caliber of bullet, it will kill someone instantly. I don't see that as inhumane.

Some murderers may not be able to be rehabilitated, so I don't see why we need to keep them around.

[I LOVE HO CHI MINH]

I totally agree with Fires of History

[munkey soup]

Rehabilitation should definetely be beefed up. But if you're an unrepentent murderer or some serial killer, like CheG says, I don't see why we should keep those kinds of people around.

That being said, I am against the current system of Capital punishment. It is unequal and just look at the number of cases of people being let offa death row because they are actually innocent.

[elizquierdista]

I believe any type of capital punishment is wrong. Nobody should have the say to how long your life will be, even if you are a murderer. Rehabilitation just isn't given enough chances. I know a priest who works in the jails and talks with the inmates.

When he talks about the current system, he calls it appauling and disgraceful. He says rehabilitation isn't even given a chance, but they (politicians, government) claim it's there.

[MattTheKat]

I'm not sure where I sit morally on capital punishment, but you'll find logistically its illogical. The appeals process and actual execution cost quite alot more than simply keeping someone in jail for life. Most people argue that there is limited jail space, but the numbers of people executed compared to incarcerated is minimal, its not like we're freeing up entire prisons in the first place. Really it is a moral and political decision (which obviously bleeds into other areas). When people decide they don't like it I imagine it will change and we'll save some money too.

[Fabi]

just rembered a point i made a lot of times back in the states...

how can someone be PRO-LIFE and at the same time be FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT??????

since... i mean.... that applies to a lot of people.... well, maybe im just too stupid to see how it doesnt contradict.....