It's time we join the rest of the civilized world and abolish capital punishment. We keep trying to make it more humane, but putting a sentient individual to death (no matter how well-deserved) is a barbarism. The folly of the recent Oklahoma atrocity, and the fact we even execute the mentally ill, and people with grossly impaired intelligence, puts us at a level of savagery comparable to those we send to the death house. I'm sure there will be emotional arguments made over this, involving my sister, or your mom, and these arguments are reasonable and true, as far as they go. But justice must be dispassionate, and an error in execution cannot be reversed after the fact.
One thing inmates use to tell me was that they were glad the death penalty was not used in NY. They might not think about it while committing their crime, but it scares them.
And once in prison, the idea that they can kill another inmate or staff member without being put to death themselves is a bonus
I agree with you Scott. It is savage. And I understand that so are the crimes that many of these inmates commit, but do we want to be just as wrong? Add to all of your comments the fact that many states have either abolished or put a moratorium on the death penalty because of all of the corruption and errors in the justice system. DNA evidence has reversed so many convictions that were due to crooked law enforcement , shoddy evidence gathering or unsure eyewitnesses. Would you want to be one of those wrongly convicted, would you want it to be your child? Follow the Innocence Project and you will be appalled. I personnally do not agree with the death penalty, I don't feel it should be legal. But even if I did, I would have a HUGE problem with the justice system we have in place now. Good points Scott.
I oppose the death penalty for all of the reasons listed above. Also (because there haven't been any of the snarky comments that often follow polls in the Batavian), I found it interesting that prior to their death penalty debacle yesterday, the last time I remember Oklahoma making national news was the brouhaha over their erecting a monument of the Ten Commandments on their state capitol's steps. I seem to recall there being something about not killing on that list.
A solid majority may support capital punishment today, but opponents of the practice are doing their utmost to sway public opinion. A glance at the national news reveals that death penalty opponents are well-placed within media organizations, trotting out smart-sounding words like "anachronism" in their opinion pieces and offering Europe as evidence that death penalty states are just behind the times.
The White House spokesman said he thinks everyone will recognize that the recent Oklahoma execution fell short of the standard of being humane. Obviously the execution did not go off without a hitch. I think it's important to look at intent. Death penalty states have gone to some length in search of something quick and painless, and in doing so have perhaps violated the KISS principle. They're working with practically no technical support from the medical profession.
For once I can't vote either way. There are certainly been cases where i believe it is justified, very extreme cases like serial murders or rapists. I don't believe it is a deterent, sociopaths don't care about the consequences of their actions. It doesent even save us money, they are kept on death row, for years
With the advent and subsequent perfecting of DNA testing, there are times that the accused is absolutely guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. In these cases the death penalty should be carried out swiftly, without many years of appeal after appeal.
As far as methodology, I don't give a damn about the state being "humane". The killer certainly was not concerned about being humane.
"With the advent and subsequent perfecting of DNA testing, there are times that the accused is absolutely guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt."
Good point. DNA testing has freed many more from death row by proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, they did not commit the crime they were sentenced to die for.
Of course, many of the people freed by DNA were prosecuted by DAs who had an agenda and also engaged in willful misconduct, so how can you be sure the DNA evidence used to convict in future cases hasn't been tainted?
I am so sorry that there are a few innocent individuals who have paid their life, but my reality tells me if an individual does not want to be executed they would not have raped innocent children and women, brutally murdered someone else, created hell for fellow human beings, and did what they did to earn a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Honest, hard working AMERICANS should not pay for 'rehabilitation' that is a disease that cannot be fixed by bars, solitary, or a free education....... sorry for all that do not agree.
All I can say is IMAGINE a country without fear of sending your kids to a park for free time, a place where you can trust your community, and get back to living life the way life is suppose to be..............
"... we certainly don't live in a perfect world .."
Which is why I don't support the death penalty. On an individual case basis it is quite possible to arrive at the conclusion the accused is in fact guilty, but in the broader sense, in the totality of all death penalty cases, achieving 100 percent certainty that all convictions are just and correct is impossible. As I said, the risk of putting one innocent person to death is too great and not worth it.
Shelly, there's a bit of flawed logic in your first sentence. You're saying innocent people rape and kill?
Life in prison is not rehabilitation. It's punishment.
You'll never will and never have lived in a country where a parent could send a child to the park without fear. In the days when parents didn't have fear, they were just blissfully unaware of the dangers out there. Child molesters aren't some recent invention. They've existed throughout human history. Today's molesters were victims themselves, and their molesters were victims.
It's not a completely safe world. Never has been. Never will be.
I'm another who cannot answer a simple "yes" or "no". I support the death penalty in theory, and up to a few years ago in its use. However, the uneven use of the death penalty effectively makes it a capricious penalty.
A study release a few years ago showed that a non-Caucasian convicted of killing a Caucasian was many times more likely to receive the death penalty than a Caucasian killing a non-Caucasian. How can anybody in their right sense support a penalty that predominantly hits one sector of society, while letting the rest slide?
It's time we join the rest of
It's time we join the rest of the civilized world and abolish capital punishment. We keep trying to make it more humane, but putting a sentient individual to death (no matter how well-deserved) is a barbarism. The folly of the recent Oklahoma atrocity, and the fact we even execute the mentally ill, and people with grossly impaired intelligence, puts us at a level of savagery comparable to those we send to the death house. I'm sure there will be emotional arguments made over this, involving my sister, or your mom, and these arguments are reasonable and true, as far as they go. But justice must be dispassionate, and an error in execution cannot be reversed after the fact.
One thing inmates use to tell
One thing inmates use to tell me was that they were glad the death penalty was not used in NY. They might not think about it while committing their crime, but it scares them.
And once in prison, the idea that they can kill another inmate or staff member without being put to death themselves is a bonus
I agree with you Scott. It
I agree with you Scott. It is savage. And I understand that so are the crimes that many of these inmates commit, but do we want to be just as wrong? Add to all of your comments the fact that many states have either abolished or put a moratorium on the death penalty because of all of the corruption and errors in the justice system. DNA evidence has reversed so many convictions that were due to crooked law enforcement , shoddy evidence gathering or unsure eyewitnesses. Would you want to be one of those wrongly convicted, would you want it to be your child? Follow the Innocence Project and you will be appalled. I personnally do not agree with the death penalty, I don't feel it should be legal. But even if I did, I would have a HUGE problem with the justice system we have in place now. Good points Scott.
I don't care whether it's
I don't care whether it's humane. I've no sympathy for wonton killers.
Whom I do have sympathy for are the wrongly convicted.
Until I can be assured that 100 percent of all people executed were in fact guilty of the crime they were convicted of, I'll oppose the death penalty.
It's better to have 1,000 truly guilty people in prison for the rest of their lives than to have one innocent person murdered by the state.
Stated much better than I
Stated much better than I did. Well said Howard...
I oppose the death penalty
I oppose the death penalty for all of the reasons listed above. Also (because there haven't been any of the snarky comments that often follow polls in the Batavian), I found it interesting that prior to their death penalty debacle yesterday, the last time I remember Oklahoma making national news was the brouhaha over their erecting a monument of the Ten Commandments on their state capitol's steps. I seem to recall there being something about not killing on that list.
A solid majority may support
A solid majority may support capital punishment today, but opponents of the practice are doing their utmost to sway public opinion. A glance at the national news reveals that death penalty opponents are well-placed within media organizations, trotting out smart-sounding words like "anachronism" in their opinion pieces and offering Europe as evidence that death penalty states are just behind the times.
The White House spokesman said he thinks everyone will recognize that the recent Oklahoma execution fell short of the standard of being humane. Obviously the execution did not go off without a hitch. I think it's important to look at intent. Death penalty states have gone to some length in search of something quick and painless, and in doing so have perhaps violated the KISS principle. They're working with practically no technical support from the medical profession.
I support it and the event in
I support it and the event in Oklahoma didn't alter my viewpoint.
For once I can't vote either
For once I can't vote either way. There are certainly been cases where i believe it is justified, very extreme cases like serial murders or rapists. I don't believe it is a deterent, sociopaths don't care about the consequences of their actions. It doesent even save us money, they are kept on death row, for years
"They're working with
"They're working with practically no technical support from the medical profession."
For good reason. Medical professionals take the Hippocratic oath. "First, do no harm."
With the advent and
With the advent and subsequent perfecting of DNA testing, there are times that the accused is absolutely guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt. In these cases the death penalty should be carried out swiftly, without many years of appeal after appeal.
As far as methodology, I don't give a damn about the state being "humane". The killer certainly was not concerned about being humane.
"With the advent and
"With the advent and subsequent perfecting of DNA testing, there are times that the accused is absolutely guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt."
Good point. DNA testing has freed many more from death row by proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, they did not commit the crime they were sentenced to die for.
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
Of course, many of the people
Of course, many of the people freed by DNA were prosecuted by DAs who had an agenda and also engaged in willful misconduct, so how can you be sure the DNA evidence used to convict in future cases hasn't been tainted?
". . .many of the people
". . .many of the people freed by DNA were prosecuted by DAs who had an agenda and also engaged in willful misconduct,"
Sad and outrageous, but true.
". . .so how can you be sure the DNA evidence used to convict in future cases hasn't been tainted?"
That's much more difficult than simple prosecutorial fraud and malfeasance, but we certainly don't live in a perfect world.
I am so sorry that there are
I am so sorry that there are a few innocent individuals who have paid their life, but my reality tells me if an individual does not want to be executed they would not have raped innocent children and women, brutally murdered someone else, created hell for fellow human beings, and did what they did to earn a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Honest, hard working AMERICANS should not pay for 'rehabilitation' that is a disease that cannot be fixed by bars, solitary, or a free education....... sorry for all that do not agree.
All I can say is IMAGINE a country without fear of sending your kids to a park for free time, a place where you can trust your community, and get back to living life the way life is suppose to be..............
"... we certainly don't live
"... we certainly don't live in a perfect world .."
Which is why I don't support the death penalty. On an individual case basis it is quite possible to arrive at the conclusion the accused is in fact guilty, but in the broader sense, in the totality of all death penalty cases, achieving 100 percent certainty that all convictions are just and correct is impossible. As I said, the risk of putting one innocent person to death is too great and not worth it.
Shelly, there's a bit of flawed logic in your first sentence. You're saying innocent people rape and kill?
Life in prison is not rehabilitation. It's punishment.
You'll never will and never have lived in a country where a parent could send a child to the park without fear. In the days when parents didn't have fear, they were just blissfully unaware of the dangers out there. Child molesters aren't some recent invention. They've existed throughout human history. Today's molesters were victims themselves, and their molesters were victims.
It's not a completely safe world. Never has been. Never will be.
I'm another who cannot answer
I'm another who cannot answer a simple "yes" or "no". I support the death penalty in theory, and up to a few years ago in its use. However, the uneven use of the death penalty effectively makes it a capricious penalty.
A study release a few years ago showed that a non-Caucasian convicted of killing a Caucasian was many times more likely to receive the death penalty than a Caucasian killing a non-Caucasian. How can anybody in their right sense support a penalty that predominantly hits one sector of society, while letting the rest slide?