What say you? Are you for it or against it? I've always been FOR it, but I think that I'm changing. I don't think it is right for "innocent" humans to deem one's life (guilty person) to be terminated.

I'm more for shot to kill at the time of capture ..... less time and money...

Any crime dealing with death of children and or rape or women or children ..... I will pull the trigger or flip the switch and or stick the needle ...

The way I see it, Belly... who are we to pass judgement (death) to these people, if we consider ourselves to be true believers of Christ (IF we are... which I claim to be). When I look at it that way, I cannot see how I may pass that sort of judgement on someone. We are all FREE living beings, free to do as we please. What we want, where we want, how we want. If we want to rape, we rape. If we want to kill, we kill. We are free to do whatever we want. However, there should be consequences to our actions that harm others, as agreed upon by our peers. I think the maximum of those consequences should be life in prison.

I just don't see how it is my right to say that you DESERVE to die. That is God's decision, not mine.

For. I don't really have any big issues with it, and I don't find the arguments against very persuasive. I don't have strong feelings on the subject, though.

I'm for it. I think/know that there's just people out there that can't be rehabilitated. They are repeat offenders of the worst kind and serve no purpose on this earth than to deform/murder/ruin.

For. Father worked at SOCF in Lucasville, so I have a unique perspective. I see both sides of the argument, but fall on the side that the death penalty should be used only for the worst of the worst and in a limited fashion.

CenterBHSFan;502288 wrote:I'm for it. I think/know that there's just people out there that can't be rehabilitated. They are repeat offenders of the worst kind and serve no purpose on this earth than to deform/murder/ruin.

Yes, but who are YOU to decide that they get to die?

Ernest, then aren't you in effect taking free will out of the equation? I believe that God gave us free will so that we can choose our own fate. So, if somebody rapes and kills children, knowing that if he/she gets caught that they will face the death penalty, and does so anyway, they are exercising their own free will to face the consequences we as a society need to put in place.

I can see that side of the argument, and I too WANT them dead. But I can't personally live with being the one, after convicted, of saying "he/she DESERVES to be dead."

ernest_t_bass;502300 wrote:I can see that side of the argument, and I too WANT them dead. But I can't personally live with being the one, after convicted, of saying "he/she DESERVES to be dead."

What about "he/she CHOSE to put themselves in their situation to be dealt with" ?

CenterBHSFan;502311 wrote:What about "he/she CHOSE to put themselves in their situation to be dealt with" ?

God is the ultimate judge. Now, if a perp is in the middle of raping, is caught and killed on spot, I see that differently. I just don't feel that "killing" should be a part of our justice system.

It costs millions of dollars more for the death penalty vs a life sentence.

It really depends on what sort of "conscience" (for lack of a better word at the moment) that one has concerning this.

- feeding the mouth that bites you
- engage and actively follow laws put in place by society for the sake of society

It's really a thought provoking dilemma.

Not only am I in favor of the death penalty....I am in favor of extending it

-If you rape or molest a child,you get the death penalty
-They need to bring back the electric chair and public hangings

Ty Webb;502362 wrote:Not only am I in favor of the death penalty....I am in favor of extending it

-If you rape or molest a child,you get the death penalty
-They need to bring back the electric chair and public hangings

Twice in one day I've fallen unconscious. I must go see my doctor....

Because those worked so well to deter crime right?

I Wear Pants;502366 wrote:Because those worked so well to deter crime right?

What good has what we've got now done?

Against. Life in prison is way worse than just dying and getting off easy.

For

I Wear Pants;502366 wrote:Because those worked so well to deter crime right?

The recidivism rates are really low.

sleeper;502370 wrote:Against. Life in prison is way worse than just dying and getting off easy.

I disagree. I've had relatives in prison. They would not choose to go back, but they continue to make choices that could send them there.

I Wear Pants;502366 wrote:Because those worked so well to deter crime right?

Not all efforts in the courtroom are intended to deter crime. A Judge doesn't make penalties solely based on deterring others.

Well yeah but I still haven't seen a satisfactory answer to "what about all the innocent people that we kill?". I think last I read there have been twenty some found innocent after they were executed since the 70s. That's absurd. Then throw in that life without parole is much less expensive (not to mention if we find them innocent later we can just let them out instead of saying "oops").

I don't know that there will be a satisfactory answer regarding those innocents.

I hope the decision by a judge is not made based on which is cheaper.

Con_Alma;502380 wrote:Not all efforts in the courtroom are intended to deter crime. A Judge doesn't make penalties solely based on deterring others.

Exactly. Deterrence is a bit of a non-issue for me. If deterrence were the goal, then convicting/punishing innocent people would work just as well, assuming no one knew the difference.

I don't find deterrence/cost to be big issues for the death penalty. If you're solely seeking to maximize social utility, I can understand the argument, but then I think you run into all sorts of other problems (e.g., sacrificing the innocent for the greater good). If you view punishment as primarily retributive/leveling the playing field/honoring personal choices (which is how I view it), then I don't see any real issue here.

To the extent that life in prison is more of a punishment, I'm open to being persuaded to go that route. Like I said, I don't have strong feelings on the issue, but I haven't yet been persuaded that the death penalty is somehow morally reprehensible.

Con_Alma;502391 wrote:I don't know that there will be a satisfactory answer regarding those innocents.

I hope the decision by a judge is not made based on which is cheaper.

What I'm saying is that the judge shouldn't have to make that decision. The death penalty shouldn't be an option. Not only do we sometimes kill innocents with it but it also costs a fuck ton more.

For it. Flip the switch, baby.