IGX

I'd be pro-death penalty when it was equally applied regardless of economic status and not subject to high rates of error. The death penalty we have applies differently depending on your place in society and kills an unacceptably high number of innocent people. I don't know what acceptable would be, but it would have to be well under 1%.

The death penalty as it exists in the US seems indefensible to me.

I was mildly Pro until I saw a documentary on the toll it takes for a family to see the penalty finally applied. They were forced to relive their son's murder for 15 years, giving witness at the endless appeals hearings.

On the other hand, Life Without Parole (LWOP) is immediately effective. And can be corrected, should the convict turn out to be innocent.

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If we could have near-absolute certainty, and the penalty could be executed within a year, I would be Pro. But we can't and it won't, so I'm not.

I'm against the Civilian death penalty because of it's potential misuse by the state. I care nothing about this BS about Blacks and lower income criminals receive the death penalty in disproportionate numbers. Mostly because Blacks and lower income groups commit a disproportionate number of murders (and all crime for that matter) in the USA.

A life time of hammering big rocks into little rocks near the artic circle is good enough for me. However, soon after abolishing the death penalty, and enforcing this type sentencing, the liberal bleeding heart bed wetter's society would be crying themselves to sleep nightly over the disproportionate number of blacks serving life without parole. White hipster guilt never sleeps.

I would only keep the death penalty only for military discipline; applied to cases of desertion, cowardice and or treason.

Batboy2/75 wrote: A life time of hammering big rocks into little rocks near the artic circle

Heavy labor, most definitely. Work or starve. Play grabass & dominos after your 12 hour shift.

I had to reply as con w/life w/o parole simply because I have insufficient faith in the system to get it right "every" time.

When I see someone absolutely guilty of something heinous executed, I lose zero sleep over it.

Pro death penalty but very skeptical of the justice system.

Life without parole. Fact is the legal system gets it wrong occasionally and we end up frying innocent people.

life

my view is similar to dr donkey's

for those who want excruciating executions, you can have what you want. just move to iran or nearby locales.

If we had penal colonies where we could exile people to, that would be the ideal. "You don't deserve to live here any more, bye" would be a good solution. Hard to implement these days.

I am largely anti. I think there are examples that warrant it but I am ever distrustful that we can reliably get it done right.

I think of killing someone as a vengeful act. IMO, our justice system should not function to provide eye-for-an-eye revenge. Removing the criminal from society should be good enough.

Also, economically, I think it's probably more of a burden to kill someone. Then you've got the whole wrongful conviction thing.

Also... the choices should have had a Killed Quickly and Painlessly ASAP.

I can't imagine why someone'd want to drag a death sentence out 25 years.

Fuzzy Dunlop wrote:Also... the choices should have had a Killed Quickly and Painlessly ASAP.

I can't imagine why someone'd want to drag a death sentence out 25 years.

I can: http://www.thenationaltriallawyers.org/

Anti. Death is easy, life without parole is hard. I personally would rather be dead than to spend life in prison. I suspect others feel this way, why give them the easy out of death?

I'll say this..I don't think anyone is beyond redemptive value...even if it means performing slave labor. This raises other issues but I think given the choice of parking someone to rot versus giving them access to the most powerful catalyst for redemption that I buy into (work), I'd rather have them work.

The issue is the soft headed retards amongst us that would still cry themselves asleep every night thinking of the poor prisoners working. While prison shouldn't be gladiator academy, it shouldn't be a place where you cool your heels rapping with your guidance counselor.

Plus, since prison is a "crime and punishment issue" and therefore a core responsibility of Government; it should never be outsourced to a private entity.

You can make a much stronger case as prison work having rehabilitative value than punitive. Have a couple second hand experiences with it and many of these guys are dying to work.

My views on the death penalty are essentially the same as they are on abortion in that it should be exceedingly rare but remain a legal option with society having a real conversation about preventing the lead up to either event rather than a political argument about the end result.

Phaedrus wrote:My views on the death penalty are essentially the same as they are on abortion in that it should be exceedingly rare but remain a legal option with society having a real conversation about preventing the lead up to either event rather than a political argument about the end result.

That's a reasoned stand...except for the abortion bit. That's just ridiculous. Early and often and as cheap as dental floss I say.

I was against the death penalty before I researched and wrote a book about serial killer John Wayne Gacy. 60 hours of interview. He changed me.

They say it's not a civilized society if you have the death penalty.

But --- what I knew about what he did --- well, it changed me. For him, death. It diminishes society to let him live.

I can't opine about others. The one guy I studied...

I would have pulled the lever on John. I told him that.

JDub wrote:Anti. Death is easy, life without parole is hard. I personally would rather be dead than to spend life in prison. I suspect others feel this way, why give them the easy out of death?

This. Plus no interaction with general population.

Cave Canem wrote:

JDub wrote:Anti. Death is easy, life without parole is hard. I personally would rather be dead than to spend life in prison. I suspect others feel this way, why give them the easy out of death?

This. Plus no interaction with general population.

My first job in law enforcement was as a corrections officer. I can tell you without a doubt most people that end up in seg want to kill themselves after a while. No contact with gen pop drives them nuts. Even those that are PC for protection eventually want back in population. This IMO is a good idea for shit bags that deserve death.

I already wrote this on another thread: let's use them, scumbags, as guinea pigs to try new anti-cancer drugs. This way, whether they survive the treatment or not, they will be repaying an enormous debt to society. You take an innocent life but end up potentially saving thousands of them. It has some poetry in it.

Not sure at times how I feel. However, the botched event in Oklahoma is proof that some rope around the neck, the feet and attached to a sandbag should be used. After all the appeals are issued, the rope can be used multiple times and there's no need to rely on suppliers to send the drugs for execution.