Dont want the death penalty? Just cry. (Death Penalty Discussion)

[Jer]

Meh, if there is doubt on whether somebody committed a murder, I don't think they should be sentenced to death. On the other hand, if there is no doubt, fry the fucker as soon as he's caught. I say this even as I know that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent for violent offenders.

The problem is that death doesn't strike fear into the hearts of those going out and doing these horrible things. Hell, you have people going out and murdering each other every damn day. They don't care whether they live or die. The problem is that we have rules about how we can execute murderers. Once somebody knowingly and willfully murders (not kill, there is a difference) somebody, they resign any claim they have on being a human being. I'd be all for having televised events where it takes a week to skin somebody before removing their appendages one by one. Sitting in a chair for a few minutes, and then either being put under before being poisoned, or getting fried instantly doesn't scare these people. Let them think about if they want to spend the last few weeks/months of their lives in terrible agony.

Yes, it's over the top, but the point stands. The death penalty as it currently exists does not stop homicides from occurring. That doesn't mean we should stop using it for the people who continue to do it.

[Eratosthenes]

I don't think failing to find a vein for two hours counts as cruel or unusual punishment, or even a punishment at all.

They should bring back the guillotine. You know the system's flawed if it takes two hours to find someone's neck.

[Qalbert]

On a loosely related note I was donating blood for extra credit one time, but there were 4 attendants to 10 beds. The fucking needle pops out and I start oozing blood all over and it took almost 30 seconds to get the attendant to come over. Shit sucked.

[Priran]

omg i think we shud chop off his balls and stick them up his ass and then cut his ass off and shove it down his throat. that wud show people murder is bad. go america ^_^

[Tankjr]

The death penalty is supposed to be a deterrent for violent criminals. It doesn't work, clearly. That being said, unless I'm on the wrong end of the needle I don't really care what they do to fuckers that rape and murder young girls (Glenn Beck?)

Anyone else remember that Star Trek:TNG episode with the planet that only had 1 penalty for all crimes, death?

[BadKarma]

I know, rape sucks, etc. but Death Penalty should be abolished already.

Go away. People who do things like this deserve to die. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

[Olo401]

Going to address this issue in two parts.

First, is one form of capital punishment more cruel and unusual than another? Well, by definition the objective is to have someone killed, so really no matter what method you use the result is going to be the same. Personally I'd go with hanging every time. It's not messy and it doesn't cost much.

Second, do I approve of capital punishment? Yes - some crimes are simply too vile and are deserving of being put to death. However, I believe that there HAS to be overwhelming proof to make sure someone innocent is not convicted, AND a capital sentence must be enacted not by the judge but in an unanimous decision by the jury.

[pohibaba]

Meh, if there is doubt on whether somebody committed a murder, I don't think they should be sentenced to death. On the other hand, if there is no doubt, fry the fucker as soon as he's caught. I say this even as I know that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent for violent offenders.

Does it bother you that blacks make up around 15% of the American population, but make up around 35% of the population on death row? Does it bother you that if you kill a white person rather than anyone else you're about 5 times more likely to receive the death penalty? How do you propose to solve these inequities? And if you can't, would you still support the death penalty?

[Qalbert]

Does it bother you that blacks make up around 15% of the American population, but make up around 35% of the population on death row? Does it bother you that if you kill a white person rather than anyone else you're about 5 times more likely to receive the death penalty? How do you propose to solve these inequities? And if you can't, would you still support the death penalty?

Because it is simply IMPOSSIBLE for a racial subset to not have the same population:criminal ratio? I'm not saying it isn't inequal, but thats some fail logic right there.

[pohibaba]

Because it is simply IMPOSSIBLE for a racial subset to not have the same population:criminal ratio? I'm not saying it isn't inequal, but thats some fail logic right there.

Are you suggesting that blacks are inherently more murder-tastic than whites? If not, how else would you explain the discrepency?

[Qalbert]

Are you suggesting that blacks are inherently more murder-tastic than whites? If not, how else would you explain the discrepency?

It has nothing to do with "inherent murdertasticness". Criminal proclivity is not just some flat standard rate that applies to every possible subset the same way. Just because one subset has a higher percentage than another doesn't automatically make it a racial thing.

[Senoska]

Assume there is no life after death.

Which is worse, killing them on the spot or making them stay in jail until they die from something awful.

Your move

[SephYuyX]

Are you suggesting that blacks are inherently more murder-tastic than whites? If not, how else would you explain the discrepency?

lol gj on turning it into a racial thing.

[Pringles]

Assume there is no life after death.

Which is worse, killing them on the spot or making them stay in jail until they die from something awful.

Your move

Unless of course you're a terrorist dying from cancer in Scotland

[Jefe]

lol gj on turning it into a racial thing.

He has some valid points... at least from the "research" I've conducted.

[Woozie]

Is really expensive (way more expensive than life in prison), and I don't see it as being a worse punishment than life in prison (unless they're tortured to death or something, but obviously that's not how we do it). So I don't see any benefits to death penalty (vs life in prison), whereas I do see a two drawbacks. Sure, people might say money shouldn't be an issue when we're talking about someone who commited such a horrible crime, but if there are zero benefits to something and at least one drawback, then obviously it's not a good choice regardless of what the drawback happens to be. Can anyone explain to me any benefits of death penalty versus a life in prison? No seriously, if there are any that I just haven't thought of for some reason someone please tell me, because I'm curious to know.

Even if there were some benefits to the death penalty, it probably wouldn't change my mind about it. I'm against it for moral reasons and religious reasons as well. I don't expect the government to care about my personal morals or values, so my main argument against the death penalty is my first paragraph.

But anyways, since this topic is more of a "The best way to kill a person" discussion than a discussion about the death penalty itself, let me get back on topic. I say we kill someone, then freeze them until we get the technology to bring people back from the dead. Then we revive them and subject them to the most horrifying punishment imaginable: making them level a mage job in FFXI. And when the person dies (of boredom, most likely), we just keep reviving them and making them level more mage jobs. But I'm pretty sure this would never happen, as leveling mage jobs is cruel and unusual.

[Leif]

The death penalty is supposed to be a deterrent for violent criminals. It doesn't work, clearly.

This wouldn't be the case if we televised painful executions (eaten by wild cats? angry fish?) as a premium cable spectator sport. This is the system's fault for taking away the real deterrent that comes from the death penalty.

[Sepukku]

Does it bother you that blacks make up around 15% of the American population, but make up around 35% of the population on death row? Does it bother you that if you kill a white person rather than anyone else you're about 5 times more likely to receive the death penalty? How do you propose to solve these inequities? And if you can't, would you still support the death penalty?

You do realize how big of a hole there is in this logic, right? Completely disregarding whats already been pointed out, that just because they are 15% of the population doesn't mean they should only recieve 15% of all death penalty sentences, even then, shouldn't you look at a more correlated stat:

Black's % of all murderers vs blacks % of those recieving the death penalty?

I don't know the stats, but if I was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and had to guess, I'd think you may have greater than 15% of blacks committing all murders, objectively speaking.

[Null]

He's still got nothing on Glenn Beck.

[Jer]

Does it bother you that blacks make up around 15% of the American population, but make up around 35% of the population on death row? Does it bother you that if you kill a white person rather than anyone else you're about 5 times more likely to receive the death penalty? How do you propose to solve these inequities? And if you can't, would you still support the death penalty?

I said guilty. What I mean when I say guilty, is the person actually committed the crime. There's not really a whole lot I have to add besides what people already posted.

I don't care what color somebody's skin is, or who it was they murdered. I'm an equal-opportunity hater.