Will America keep the death penelty

[Just Say No]

Out of curiosity I googled "execution" and then looked at the videos and got all kinds of videos, mostly from the middle east. One was an interview of some bound men in Iran right before they were put to death for everything from stealing to homosexuality. My question is, will the United States keep the death penalty in the future.

Like it or not Europe has always been a few years a head of us and I can't think of an EU country that has the death penelty off the top of my head. I am really torn about the issue. I mean the idea of the state killing a human being is so morbid but at the same rate I can easily imagine putting the muzzle of a 1911 to the back of the head of a child molester.

I do oppose the death penalty in almost all cases (juries get it wrong a lot). Short of the guy who grabbed the balif's gun and killed another cop all on video. For me personally 1 innocent life is not worth the life of 50 murderers. I would rather see them spend life in prison than put one innocent man to death.




ETA: I look at video's like this and I can't imagine being the guy who flipped the switch on some who is so obviously so mentally ill. I have a family member who talks a lot like this but is not violent while he is on meds. I feel for the families (I have had an uncle stabbed to death) but I really don't know how you can kill people like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBcjII3QAE&feature=related

[*ASH*]

i hope so but dunno .


you can beat your ass i am keeping the death penalty on my docket. because anyone comes after me or my family and friends in any criminal matter will be delt with properly lol.

[ElevatedThreat]

The US should use the death penalty MORE, not LESS.

With DNA evidence pretty much ruling out mistaken identity, we can execute with confidence that we have the right guy.

Why warehouse for 70 years some 20-year-old criminal who commotted some unspeakably brutal homicide.

Hang 'em, fry 'em, or shoot 'em instead. (Lethal injection is just too odd.)

-ET

[GMT II]

I am pro deadly force and anti death penalty.

There is a world of difference in my opinion between a jury deciding after the fact while being confused by a bloodthirsty DA and with a defendant hindered by inadequate legal counsel and someone who takes lethal action to defend the life of them and others upon seeing a threat right in front of them.

Make no mistake, both situations have had errors. The State has killed people that did not deserve it. People have made grievous errors and shot men dead that also did not deserve it.

However, the consequences of disarming the population is more crime, more killing and less safety. I am not convinced that the death penalty works as deterrent.

I will not protest in the streets over this one but I have my personal belief and this is it.

[fwm]

The death penalty is a state thing. NY not so much, TX good to go. World opinion doesn't sway states nearly as much as it does DEMs at federal level.

[PeterJasonMN]

Not only should we keep it, we should make it available on PPV.

[Just Say No]

The US should use the death penalty MORE, not LESS.

With DNA evidence pretty much ruling out mistaken identity, we can execute with confidence that we have the right guy.

Why warehouse for 70 years some 20-year-old criminal who commotted some unspeakably brutal homicide.

Hang 'em, fry 'em, or shoot 'em instead. (Lethal injection is just too odd.)

-ET

Are you willing to have your spouse or children be the one who is wrongfully put to death?

[Just Say No]

By the way, I am not some hippie liberal activist, I carry a P32 on a DAILY basis with a 1911 in the car and I am FULLY willing to use both to protect the life of myself and other innocent people. But like GMT said I am just not willing to entrust the life of a possibly innocent person to the judgment of 12 peers.

[xsiv4s]

I have good news and bad news;

Yes they are going to keep it, but they are going to extend it to cover miss-spelling.

[RyanSBHF]

We should not only keep it we should use it more often.

[txinvestigator]

The US should use the death penalty MORE, not LESS.

With DNA evidence pretty much ruling out mistaken identity, we can execute with confidence that we have the right guy.




Dallas county has recently exonerated over 20 people who have served MANY years in prison for crimes DNA is now showing the did not commit. I wonder how many innocent people we have killed?

And how about crimes where there is NO DNA evidence.

[dox1842]

There needs to be a 3 strikes and you get the death penalty law. This will keep rapist and molesters out of society for good.

[GMT II]

I have good news and bad news;

Yes they are going to keep it, but they are going to extend it to cover miss-spelling.

:wow::wow:

I'm a dead man. :rofl:

[USMCsilver]

Google the "Innocence Project" and it may sway you to anti-death penalty status.

Granted, I'm for it. But...well, it just makes you REALLY think about some things when you really get into studying it. I've read deep into in the past, and followed some case studies, and there's some mind blowing realizations that come after really digging into it.

Like all things, nothing's ever perfect.

[crazymoose]

I am pro deadly force and anti death penalty.

There is a world of difference in my opinion between a jury deciding after the fact while being confused by a bloodthirsty DA and with a defendant hindered by inadequate legal counsel and someone who takes lethal action to defend the life of them and others upon seeing a threat right in front of them.

Make no mistake, both situations have had errors. The State has killed people that did not deserve it. People have made grievous errors and shot men dead that also did not deserve it.

However, the consequences of disarming the population is more crime, more killing and less safety. I am not convinced that the death penalty works as deterrent.

I will not protest in the streets over this one but I have my personal belief and this is it.


+1, I agree on all counts.

If one really believes that it's better to free 100 guilty men than to kill one innocent man, I don't know how he can be pro death penalty.

[Nestor]

I hope so.
I came from Europe and the situation there makes me sick.
Why should I pay for those bastards for so many years?
I'm all the way for an extra review of the every, single case by the special judge or other institution before the final moment, but the death penalty should stay all the way IMO.

[kylenewman]

I hope so.
I came from Europe and the situation there makes me sick.
Why should I pay for those bastards for so many years?
I'm all the way for an extra review of the every, single case by the special judge or other institution before the final moment, but the death penalty should stay all the way IMO.

It actually can cost more to execute someone. A death penalty case with all the appeals and legal fees can cost 1-3.5 million dollars. While life in prison cost about 40,000-50,000 a year. I don't support the death penalty because of the number of innocent people in jail. Even if one innocent person is killed it's too much.

[Retseh]

It will go away eventually along with personal tax returns, insurance only healthcare, excessive military spending, and prisoner torture.

Not saying I agree with all of the above, but it's all a matter of inevitable social evolution.

[DustyBottoms]

Those on death row get their own private cell, meals served, TV, and special legal treatment when compared to the GP.

Texas leads the nation in executions but even there only 10% buy the farm.

Most death row prisoners (75% was told to me) die from old age or sickness.

I'm for life without possibility of parole. I believe that it would be as much a deterrent as death using today's death row statistics. It may not save much fiscally but would cut some tax paid legal expenses. It would also free up some private cells and necessary guard duty if we put them in GP. If there was a mistake made at trial and the inmate was later proven innocent, then another reason.:cool:

Bottom line: The death penalty is broken and lawyers are just taking advantage of the fact.

JMO

[jakemccoy]

I haven't thought about this death penalty issue in awhile. Come to think about it, any politician's stance on this issue doesn't matter to me anymore. There are so many other issues that matter more.

[glockbk]

Just say no, quick question: the prisons are overcrowded big time. There are no funds left to build more prisons. They have to let several go. Among them is the local child molester. He finds a girl, kidnaps, rapes and kills her. The state has no death penalty. He's convicted and sentenced (surprise!) to "life" in prison without parole. He's paroled again and, rinse and repeats. What do you do then? You send him back to the streets? Ask the girl who was raped twice by the Samuel Barnes in the SAME garage on two separate occasions. Why we don't execute rapists, I'll never understand. And before the first rape, he had over 20 FELONY convictions on his rap sheet. Would you oppose putting Adolf Hitler to death? Seriously. Would you oppose the death penalty for Augustine Pinochet? What if Mr. I killed 30 girls moved in to your neighborhood after the prisons were too overcrowded/broke to keep him locked up? What would you do then?

[Dean]

Just say no, quick question: the prisons are overcrowded big time. There are no funds left to build more prisons. They have to let several go. Among them is the local child molester. He finds a girl, kidnaps, rapes and kills her. The state has no death penalty. He's convicted and sentenced (surprise!) to "life" in prison without parole. He's paroled again and, rinse and repeats. What do you do then? You send him back to the streets? Ask the girl who was raped twice by the Samuel Barnes in the SAME garage on two separate occasions. Why we don't execute rapists, I'll never understand. And before the first rape, he had over 20 FELONY convictions on his rap sheet. Would you oppose putting Adolf Hitler to death? Seriously. Would you oppose the death penalty for Augustine Pinochet? What if Mr. I killed 30 girls moved in to your neighborhood after the prisons were too overcrowded/broke to keep him locked up? What would you do then?

+1
The death penalty is a very important deterrent - anyone who tells you different is kidding himself. Convicts know they can do the jail time, but they worry about being executed for their crimes. That occasionally saves an innocent life. :drillsgt:

[crazymoose]

Just say no, quick question: the prisons are overcrowded big time. There are no funds left to build more prisons. They have to let several go. Among them is the local child molester. He finds a girl, kidnaps, rapes and kills her. The state has no death penalty. He's convicted and sentenced (surprise!) to "life" in prison without parole. He's paroled again and, rinse and repeats. What do you do then? You send him back to the streets? Ask the girl who was raped twice by the Samuel Barnes in the SAME garage on two separate occasions. Why we don't execute rapists, I'll never understand. And before the first rape, he had over 20 FELONY convictions on his rap sheet. Would you oppose putting Adolf Hitler to death? Seriously. Would you oppose the death penalty for Augustine Pinochet? What if Mr. I killed 30 girls moved in to your neighborhood after the prisons were too overcrowded/broke to keep him locked up? What would you do then?

Legalize drugs and we would have all the room in the world to keep the real criminals in jail. You can just as easily blame the war on drugs for the repeat offenders who are paroled as you can the lack of the death penalty.

[2afreedom]

There needs to be a 3 strikes and you get the death penalty law. This will keep rapist and molesters out of society for good.

+1 on that. Why do we let people who repeatedly violently harm their neighbors live? :dunno:

[crazymoose]

+1
The death penalty is a very important deterrent - anyone who tells you different is kidding himself. Convicts know they can do the jail time, but they worry about being executed for their crimes. That occasionally saves an innocent life. :drillsgt:

It's not like they're getting 3-5 years instead of death. Life in jail without parole is a scarier thought to me than execution. I'm not convinced that death is actually a more effective deterrent.

[Brown Hawk]

I have good news and bad news;

Yes they are going to keep it, but they are going to extend it to cover miss-spelling.

Come on! Come on! We're still waiting for the bad news part! :supergrin::tongueout:

I am for it under some circumstances. Multiple rape with DNA, multiple child molestation with DNA. It should be automatic death penalty.

Video evidence in connection with other strong evidence. Eyewitness evidence is not good enough for it, unless the perp was previously known to the witness. And even then I would want a lot of other evidence.

One reason that it doesn't have much deterrent is the amount of time it takes for appeals, etc. That needs to change.

Hawk

[Just Say No]

Just say no, quick question: the prisons are overcrowded big time. There are no funds left to build more prisons. They have to let several go. Among them is the local child molester. He finds a girl, kidnaps, rapes and kills her. The state has no death penalty. He's convicted and sentenced (surprise!) to "life" in prison without parole. He's paroled again and, rinse and repeats. What do you do then? You send him back to the streets? Ask the girl who was raped twice by the Samuel Barnes in the SAME garage on two separate occasions. Why we don't execute rapists, I'll never understand. And before the first rape, he had over 20 FELONY convictions on his rap sheet. Would you oppose putting Adolf Hitler to death? Seriously. Would you oppose the death penalty for Augustine Pinochet? What if Mr. I killed 30 girls moved in to your neighborhood after the prisons were too overcrowded/broke to keep him locked up? What would you do then?

Why would you release a violent offender and on top of that why would someone who is in prison for life (Texas life, not sissy life) get paroled? That overcrowding problem would dry up overnight if you treated drugs like we treat alcoholism.

That being said I do think the idea of the death penalty is morbid but I do think it has its place in cases where there is no doubt at all that the person is guilty. Would you trust your life to 12 Obama voters? People are fallible, they make mistakes and that is abundantly clear here in Texas.

Let me put it like this, if you are pro-death penalty the way it works right now, you need to be willing to have one of your loved ones be wrongfully put to death. I would rather see 100 child molesters sit in prison for life than have a single innocent person (loved one or not) put down like a rabid dog.




ETA: Personally I wouldn't mind seeing the death penalty expanded to cover almost all violent crime all the way down to aggravated robbery. Of course that would cover rape and anything having to do with children. That sounds good in concept but again I come back to the part about needed to be 100% sure that this is the guy.

[Ralff]

Eye for an eye IMO.

[dox1842]

There was a rape incident here a couple of years ago in my city where the perp had a rap sheet of 20+ years. I can only think if that person was executed, the rape would have never happened.... What if the death penalty was used, but only when there was multiple crimes commited during a criminals history???

[badge315]

Without the death penalty, how would you punish a prisoner with a life sentence who kills a Corrections Officer or another prisoner? :dunno:

The whole crime and punishment concept will never be completely equitable. We prohibit 'cruel and unusual punishment' in this country, but some crimes are so heinous in nature that we can never make the punishment fit the crime.

[cjlandry]

I think car thieves should be hung, same as they used to hang horse thieves.

[crazymoose]

The whole crime and punishment concept will never be completely equitable. We prohibit 'cruel and unusual punishment' in this country, but some crimes are so heinous in nature that we can never make the punishment fit the crime.


Precisely. We can never really make a just situation out of a tragedy, so we need to stop kidding ourselves. Kill a rapist or a murderer, and the victim is still raped or dead. Maybe the family feels a little better. Hard to say that justice has really been done, though, especially when you later find that you offed the wrong guy in x% of the cases.

Bad things happen to good people all the time. Yes, it sucks, but sometimes simple damage control (getting the guy off the street) is the best you can do.

[mataleon]

Not only should we keep it, we should make it available on PPV.

Excellent idea!

[mataleon]

Precisely. We can never really make a just situation out of a tragedy, so we need to stop kidding ourselves. Kill a rapist or a murderer, and the victim is still raped or dead. Maybe the family feels a little better. Hard to say that justice has really been done, though, especially when you later find that you offed the wrong guy in x% of the cases.

Bad things happen to good people all the time. Yes, it sucks, but sometimes simple damage control (getting the guy off the street) is the best you can do.

No, actually the best you can do is - execution.

[mataleon]

It's not like they're getting 3-5 years instead of death. Life in jail without parole is a scarier thought to me than execution. I'm not convinced that death is actually a more effective deterrent.

The death penalty was never meant to be a deterrent - it is punishment. That is why it is called the death "penalty".

[srhoades]

The death penalty was never meant to be a deterrent - it is punishment. That is why it is called the death "penalty".


Agreed. However if implemented properly (swiftly and in publicly) it also makes an excellent detterent.

To the orginial question, I doubt the death penalty will stay. As we become more feminized as a society, emotion will rule even more over intellect. This can already be seen with the War in Iraq. Leaving aside whether it is just or not, most American's find it appaling that "so many" soldiers died, when in reality if you compare the statisticts to other wars it barely scratches the surface.

Another example, look at the recent train tragedy here in CA. Now everyone has their panties in a bunch and wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to control trains. Can't we just see it for what it was, an avoidable accident? Instead everyone is all hyped up on emotion and the only thing that will fix it is the "feeling" of being safe.

Don't misunderstand me, emotions have their place, but intellect should rule over emotions. Today in America emotions rule the roost and there is no end to safety programs, social programs, rehabilition over punishment, etc. All rooted in feminism. All of these problems could be resolved with some hard line common sense, but then peoples feeling would get hurt, words like "intolerant", "politically incorrect" and "exclusive" start getting thrown around and our leaders stop leading due to fear of the masses and concede, another feministic trait.

Male leadership has been usurped by feminist ideology and we find America where it is at today; chaos. You bring a pair of toenail clippers to school and you are suspended. You molest a child and you get 5 years. No rhyme or reason becuase emotions either over react or under react because they are not kept in check with intellect.

And to prove my point I would wager that someone will thrown around some of those previously mentioned words to me or the thread will be locked. Why? Because being confrontational is anti-feminine.

[mataleon]

Agreed. However if implemented properly (swiftly and in publicly) it also makes an excellent detterent.

To the orginial question, I doubt the death penalty will stay. As we become more feminized as a society, emotion will rule even more over intellect. This can already be seen with the War in Iraq. Leaving aside whether it is just or not, most American's find it appaling that "so many" soldiers died, when in reality if you compare the statisticts to other wars it barely scratches the surface.

Another example, look at the recent train tragedy here in CA. Now everyone has their panties in a bunch and wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to control trains. Can't we just see it for what it was, an avoidable accident? Instead everyone is all hyped up on emotion and the only thing that will fix it is the "feeling" of being safe.

Don't misunderstand me, emotions have their place, but intellect should rule over emotions. Today in America emotions rule the roost and there is no end to safety programs, social programs, rehabilition over punishment, etc. All rooted in feminism. All of these problems could be resolved with some hard line common sense, but then peoples feeling would get hurt, words like "intolerant", "politically incorrect" and "exclusive" start getting thrown around and our leaders stop leading due to fear of the masses and concede, another feministic trait.

Male leadership has been usurped by feminist ideology and we find America where it is at today; chaos. You bring a pair of toenail clippers to school and you are suspended. You molest a child and you get 5 years. No rhyme or reason becuase emotions either over react or under react because they are not kept in check with intellect.

And to prove my point I would wager that someone will thrown around some of those previously mentioned words to me or the thread will be locked. Why? Because being confrontational is anti-feminine.





Thank you for the excellent post.

Whenever the red herring “deterrent effect of the death penalty” comes up in conversation, I usually ask: “Do you know how many years it’s been since anyone has actually died from receiving the "death" penalty in this state?"

[Gun Shark]

Not only should we keep it, we should make it available on PPV.

yea I agree with that. I think that it should be so inhumane and brutal and show it to all the people who committed a violent crime. as well as on PPV. I think if this happens they will see a significant drop in violent crime because people will not want to even entertain the idea that what they do might subject them to that inhumane and brutal act. with that said we need to fix the statistic that 1 in 10 people executed were innocent of the crime they were executed for. while I despise and would love to be able to beat the sh** out of a child molester without feeling a little guilty myself. Think about it.Do we shun people for being gay. I think that child sex offenders are sick and need help and that doesn't include a bullet. Child murderers i would love the pleasure/honor/opportunity of flipping the switch.

[srhoades]

Think about it.Do we shun people for being gay.

Not anymore. At least not since the homosexual propaganda machine.

I think that child sex offenders are sick and need help and that doesn't include a bullet. Child murderers i would love the pleasure/honor/opportunity of flipping the switch.

Could you please describe how one has ever been helped? It seems that if they were helped we woudn't need a national registry to keep track of them. And how do you know people who murder children aren't also sick and need help as well? If both are sick, why should one live and one die?

[Alpine]

Out of curiosity I googled "execution" and then looked at the videos and got all kinds of videos, mostly from the middle east. One was an interview of some bound men in Iran right before they were put to death for everything from stealing to homosexuality. My question is, will the United States keep the death penalty in the future.

Like it or not Europe has always been a few years a head of us and I can't think of an EU country that has the death penelty off the top of my head. I am really torn about the issue. I mean the idea of the state killing a human being is so morbid but at the same rate I can easily imagine putting the muzzle of a 1911 to the back of the head of a child molester.

I do oppose the death penalty in almost all cases (juries get it wrong a lot). Short of the guy who grabbed the balif's gun and killed another cop all on video. For me personally 1 innocent life is not worth the life of 50 murderers. I would rather see them spend life in prison than put one innocent man to death.




ETA: I look at video's like this and I can't imagine being the guy who flipped the switch on some who is so obviously so mentally ill. I have a family member who talks a lot like this but is not violent while he is on meds. I feel for the families (I have had an uncle stabbed to death) but I really don't know how you can kill people like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBcjII3QAE&feature=related

You seem to be saying that it is no bueno to execute an innocent man, but it is acceptable to keep an innocent man imprisoned for life.

Anti-DP arguments based on the fact that our criminal justice system is not perfect are bogus. If there is truly some reasonable doubt about one of the individuals on death row, then he should be freed, right? If not, why shouldn't the execution be carried out? If you are philosophically or morally opposed to the DP just come out and say it.

[Turtle13]

What's vital isn't always humane. ~Slipknot

[crazymoose]

You seem to be saying that it is no bueno to execute an innocent man, but it is acceptable to keep an innocent man imprisoned for life.

Anti-DP arguments based on the fact that our criminal justice system is not perfect are bogus. If there is truly some reasonable doubt about one of the individuals on death row, then he should be freed, right? If not, why shouldn't the execution be carried out? If you are philosophically or morally opposed to the DP just come out and say it.


When new evidence comes to light, you can let the 50 year old man out of jail who's been wrongfully imprisoned for 30 years. Good luck trying to resurrect the guy who was executed and who has been dead for 30 years.

[Just Say No]

You seem to be saying that it is no bueno to execute an innocent man, but it is acceptable to keep an innocent man imprisoned for life.

Anti-DP arguments based on the fact that our criminal justice system is not perfect are bogus. If there is truly some reasonable doubt about one of the individuals on death row, then he should be freed, right? If not, why shouldn't the execution be carried out? If you are philosophically or morally opposed to the DP just come out and say it.

I can think of 3 people in my life right now that are behind bars that I would have no problem flipping the switch on. Also I carry a gun DAILY and would have no problems killing someone if I thought my life, or the life of an innocent person was in danger. I have no problems with society putting someone to death. Americans are stupid, that is a fact weather you like to admit it or not. I know I would never want my life to hang in the balance with 12 random people from my county. I love the idea of the death penalty being used in cases where there is absolute proof of guilt (DNA or video), in fact I would expand it all the way down to large scale theft (yes, even white collar). I am simply not comfortable with our current criminal justice system (a remnant of the Norse system) being used in life and death situations.

[crazymoose]

Agreed. However if implemented properly (swiftly and in publicly) it also makes an excellent detterent.

To the orginial question, I doubt the death penalty will stay. As we become more feminized as a society, emotion will rule even more over intellect. This can already be seen with the War in Iraq. Leaving aside whether it is just or not, most American's find it appaling that "so many" soldiers died, when in reality if you compare the statisticts to other wars it barely scratches the surface.

Another example, look at the recent train tragedy here in CA. Now everyone has their panties in a bunch and wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to control trains. Can't we just see it for what it was, an avoidable accident? Instead everyone is all hyped up on emotion and the only thing that will fix it is the "feeling" of being safe.

Don't misunderstand me, emotions have their place, but intellect should rule over emotions. Today in America emotions rule the roost and there is no end to safety programs, social programs, rehabilition over punishment, etc. All rooted in feminism. All of these problems could be resolved with some hard line common sense, but then peoples feeling would get hurt, words like "intolerant", "politically incorrect" and "exclusive" start getting thrown around and our leaders stop leading due to fear of the masses and concede, another feministic trait.

Male leadership has been usurped by feminist ideology and we find America where it is at today; chaos. You bring a pair of toenail clippers to school and you are suspended. You molest a child and you get 5 years. No rhyme or reason becuase emotions either over react or under react because they are not kept in check with intellect.

And to prove my point I would wager that someone will thrown around some of those previously mentioned words to me or the thread will be locked. Why? Because being confrontational is anti-feminine.

I'm one of the most intolerant, politically incorrect bastards you'll ever meet. I scoff at feminism and most religion. I find multiculturalism repugnant as virtually all other cultures inferior to the West (I must emphasize that I say cultures and not races). I can't stand all the girly men running around who haven't the foggiest how to handle a firearm and can't even bench the bar, yet who know the Starbucks menu by heart. Andrew Jackson, Hunter S Thompson, and Ernest Hemingway are my heroes. I don't think I need to go on.

Believe me when I say that I believe the death penalty wrong only because I don't have faith in the justice system's infallibility, and not beause I find killing murderers wrong. Emotion has nothing to do with it.

On the other hand, many of the people here who support the death penalty do so on the argument that one should put himself in the shoes of the victim or the victim's family. Nothing could be a more irrational appeal to emotion than that argument.

[srhoades]

Believe me when I say that I believe the death penalty wrong only because I don't have faith in the justice system's infallibility, and not beause I find killing murderers wrong. Emotion has nothing to do with it.



If you are going to be logically consistent then you would have to oppose every form of punishment in our justice system. Injustice is injustice. If someone goes to jail for the rest of their life as opposed to the death penalty then you are in essence saying it's ok for the state to hold this individual hostage for the rest of their life because you're not entirely sure they are guilty.

[mataleon]

I'm one of the most intolerant, politically incorrect bastards you'll ever meet. I scoff at feminism and most religion. I find multiculturalism repugnant as virtually all other cultures inferior to the West (I must emphasize that I say cultures and not races). I can't stand all the girly men running around who haven't the foggiest how to handle a firearm and can't even bench the bar, yet who know the Starbucks menu by heart. Andrew Jackson, Hunter S Thompson, and Ernest Hemingway are my heroes. I don't think I need to go on.

Believe me when I say that I believe the death penalty wrong only because I don't have faith in the justice system's infallibility, and not beause I find killing murderers wrong. Emotion has nothing to do with it.

On the other hand, many of the people here who support the death penalty do so on the argument that one should put himself in the shoes of the victim or the victim's family. Nothing could be a more irrational appeal to emotion than that argument.


No one here is questioning your personal masculinity. The feminization of America is a cultural change that many men and women have adopted whole cloth, or allowed to take rein over their common sense.

Your thinking is what is flawed and “feminized”, for as you say: “For on the other hand, many of the people here who support the death penalty do so on the argument that one should put himself in the shoes of the victim or the victim's family. Nothing could be a more irrational appeal to emotion than that argument."

It may be hard for you to grasp, but the concept of the death penalty stems out of the most profound respect for the life of the victim:

In fact, because human life is so very precious, when a person willfully takes another life, then the consequence of that is the greatest possible punishment—the forfeiture of his own life and the opportunity to do that again.

Please mull on this a bit.

[Gun Shark]

Not anymore. At least not since the homosexual propaganda machine.



Could you please describe how one has ever been helped? It seems that if they were helped we woudn't need a national registry to keep track of them. And how do you know people who murder children aren't also sick and need help as well? If both are sick, why should one live and one die?

I can't describe how one has been helped, but think about it have you ever seen a 15 or 16 year old girl you thought was hot and thought about asking her out and or maybe having sex with her. Let me say another thing about that, Statutory rape has a lot of loop holes for the gov't to convict you with. look at the teachers who had Consensual sex with their students and or other students from other schools or classes. They are in the registry also. I also believe there is a 17 year old kid in that registry also for having sex with his girlfriend I think this was on the news in the last couple of years. Do you think that they should be executed because they were over 18 when they had sex with someone under 18 that said yes, what if they came on to them how is that rape if you did nothing to prevent them from coming on to you, they just thought you were the sexiest man or woman alive and really wanted to be with you how is that rape. also how can a girl have complete control legally of her sex organs but can't have sex with who she wants to have sex with legally because they are over 18. the reason one should die and one should live is the fact that they killed someone. be it a murder of an adult or a child that person is still dead. However I feel that the ones who show true remorse for what they did before they are sentenced and it is not remorse for getting caught its remorse for actually committing the crime should be helped, also the ones that don't think they did anything wrong and have no criminal history. The ones that don't and have a violent criminal history are the ones that I think should be put to death.

[mataleon]

Gun Shark: ... However I feel that the ones who show true remorse for what they did before they are sentenced and it is not remorse for getting caught its remorse for actually committing the crime should be helped.


REMORSE :crying:

Remorse tends to remain asleep.... but it's amazing how quick a black robe can wake it up! :rofl:

[Gun Shark]

Gun Shark: ... However I feel that the ones who show true remorse for what they did before they are sentenced and it is not remorse for getting caught its remorse for actually committing the crime should be helped.


REMORSE :crying:

Remorse tends to remain asleep.... but it's amazing how quick a black robe can wake it up! :rofl:

ok i will rephrase that statement. Remorse before going on trial.

[srhoades]

I can't describe how one has been helped, but think about it have you ever seen a 15 or 16 year old girl you thought was hot and thought about asking her out and or maybe having sex with her. Let me say another thing about that, Statutory rape has a lot of loop holes for the gov't to convict you with. look at the teachers who had Consensual sex with their students and or other students from other schools or classes. They are in the registry also. I also believe there is a 17 year old kid in that registry also for having sex with his girlfriend I think this was on the news in the last couple of years. Do you think that they should be executed because they were over 18 when they had sex with someone under 18 that said yes, what if they came on to them how is that rape if you did nothing to prevent them from coming on to you, they just thought you were the sexiest man or woman alive and really wanted to be with you how is that rape. also how can a girl have complete control legally of her sex organs but can't have sex with who she wants to have sex with legally because they are over 18. the reason one should die and one should live is the fact that they killed someone. be it a murder of an adult or a child that person is still dead. However I feel that the ones who show true remorse for what they did before they are sentenced and it is not remorse for getting caught its remorse for actually committing the crime should be helped, also the ones that don't think they did anything wrong and have no criminal history. The ones that don't and have a violent criminal history are the ones that I think should be put to death.

That is one big red herring. You're equating consentual sex with child molestation and in now way defending your assertion that child molestors should not be executed because they are "sick in need of help".

[Razoreye]

The problem and debate isn't so much the death penalty as it is prison/judicial system reform. There's a lot wrong with that before you can get started on the ethical aspect of flipping the switch (which I'm fine with.)

[srhoades]

The problem and debate isn't so much the death penalty as it is prison/judicial system reform. There's a lot wrong with that before you can get started on the ethical aspect of flipping the switch (which I'm fine with.)

I'd argue that if those who were convicted and given the death penatly were executed swiftly and publicly, that prison/judical reform would follow.

[mataleon]

Gun Shark: ok i will rephrase that statement. Remorse before going on trial.




~~~~~"Remorse gauging" is yet another illustration of the feminization of our culture.

[geminicricket]

Dallas county has recently exonerated over 20 people who have served MANY years in prison for crimes DNA is now showing the did not commit. I wonder how many innocent people we have killed?

And how about crimes where there is NO DNA evidence.

Dallas County is the only county in Texas that has been preserving evidence for decades. It is rather obvious that some of the men who went to their deaths from other Texas counties protesting their innocence were telling the truth.

I wish that the District Attorney would create a division and staff it with exonerated individuals, tasked according to their abilities. I'd be happy to have county tax revenue support these fellows for the remainder of their lives.

I don't live in Dallas County.

[mataleon]

Dallas County is the only county in Texas that has been preserving evidence for decades. It is rather obvious that some of the men who went to their deaths from other Texas counties protesting their innocence were telling the truth.

I wish that the District Attorney would create a division and staff it with exonerated individuals, tasked according to their abilities. I'd be happy to have county tax revenue support these fellows for the remainder of their lives.

I don't live in Dallas County.


Love the DNA testing and other tech advances!!

We now have even greater assurance of their guilt.

[crazymoose]

If you are going to be logically consistent then you would have to oppose every form of punishment in our justice system. Injustice is injustice. If someone goes to jail for the rest of their life as opposed to the death penalty then you are in essence saying it's ok for the state to hold this individual hostage for the rest of their life because you're not entirely sure they are guilty.


Yes, it sucks when an innocent man spends 40 years in prison, but he can be freed and receive some monetary recompense. Death is, and will be for the foreseeable future, irreversible.

[crazymoose]

No one here is questioning your personal masculinity. The feminization of America is a cultural change that many men and women have adopted whole cloth, or allowed to take rein over their common sense.

Your thinking is what is flawed and “feminized”, for as you say: “For on the other hand, many of the people here who support the death penalty do so on the argument that one should put himself in the shoes of the victim or the victim's family. Nothing could be a more irrational appeal to emotion than that argument."

It may be hard for you to grasp, but the concept of the death penalty stems out of the most profound respect for the life of the victim:

In fact, because human life is so very precious, when a person willfully takes another life, then the consequence of that is the greatest possible punishment—the forfeiture of his own life and the opportunity to do that again.

Please mull on this a bit.

I think you're arguing from a position of sentimentality.

If you're going to argue that the legal system is about justice, than I hope that you'll agree with me that justice is one of the few things that should be valued more heavily than even life. I'm not willing to trade the lives of the innocent men that we know will be killed by the system in exchange for the guilty being able to receive what may or may not be a harsher punishment. A handful of innocent men's lives is not a worthy trade for whatever extra comfort the execution of a bunch of killers brings the victims' families.

[michael t]

3 days
day 1 found guilty
day 2 appeal case
day 3 public hanging

no more years and years Lets clean out death rows in America To many waiting Speed up the system

[bocephus549]

The death penalty was never meant to be a deterrent - it is punishment. That is why it is called the death "penalty".

Dear God I actually agree with you.

[bocephus549]

Gun Shark: ... However I feel that the ones who show true remorse for what they did before they are sentenced and it is not remorse for getting caught its remorse for actually committing the crime should be helped.


REMORSE :crying:

Remorse tends to remain asleep.... but it's amazing how quick a black robe can wake it up! :rofl:

Remorse: The feeling one gets after being caught.

[mataleon]

3 days
day 1 found guilty
day 2 appeal case
day 3 public hanging

no more years and years Lets clean out death rows in America To many waiting Speed up the system

Agree. Think we could eliminate day 2?