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Death penalty - what are your thoughts?

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VT_scratch
Posts: 8710 - Karma: 5,615
Whatup NS?

Im writing an essay for english that is due tuesday on the death penalty. Pretty simple format, pick a side (for it or against it) and write in the stlye of intro, con, pro pro conclusion. maybe 3 pros.

As of now I am thinking I want to write from the approach of being against it, with my pro paragraphs being:

executions cost more than life in prison

innocent people can and have been executed and later found to be innocent



So NS, what are your thoughts on the death penalty? Are you for it or against it and what are a couple major reasons you have to support your belief.

Thanks
Apr 12 2009 4:10PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Hahaha.  A modern day Jonathan Swift, I hope?
Apr 13 2009 2:04AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Click for larger image

Add to this that somehow our country has made it more expensive to kill a person that imprison them for life... I'm thinking we socially evolve a bit.
Apr 13 2009 2:19AM
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SushiMan
Posts: 1269 - Karma: 424
I had to do a debate on pro death penalty, idk if your stats for costing more is correct, i read up on multiple sources that keeping something in prison for life costs more in the long run.

uhhh and also there has been some instances in which, pubic view has helped people of life in prison get out early on parole but end up committing another crime

its a hard subject to debate. If u were a friend or close to a victim of a murderer you are more likely to be for pro death penalty for sure
Apr 13 2009 2:30AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Oh I dunno.... call me evil, but there would be something satisfying in seeing a murderer locked up in a 8X10 cell for the rest of his life to stew on his actions.
Apr 13 2009 2:31AM
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sick-as-aids
Posts: 3453 - Karma: 1,007
if i did somthing that bad, and had the choice of facing my whole life in prison, or just die now... i would 10000x prefer to just die.. life in prison would be terrible... they should replace the death penalty with life in prison, no parole, ever... and exclude them in prison from others, so they are lonely and misserable and cant interact with other members often.... that would be genuinly terrible, much worse than just dieing and not suffering
Apr 13 2009 2:34AM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
Without disclaiming my personal opinion on the death penalty I'd suggest writing a paper that is against it. It's a lot easier to back up this position than it is to argue pro death penalty. I had to do a paper on this in an ethics class in undergrad once.

First point to argue - "no way to be 100% certain of guilt every single time". There was a group of grad students (i think) that picked up some death penalty work several years ago. They took a case or two from death row and actually ended up getting either the cases thrown out or the death penalty taken off of the table (don't really remember which). You can add the point that even if we execute one innocent person then it outweighs the benefits of executing 10 guilty people...especially in a "civilized" nation. blah blah blah. Here's a link about a similar story...

http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2006_spr/washington.htm


Next point - you can't execute someone without violating the right against "cruel & unusual" punishment. The two most common forms of execution in the US are lethal injection and electrocution. There are quite a few studies out there that present evidence that the cocktail of drugs that they use in lethal injection don't always "work". I won't go into great detail but here is a link to a story that should get your wheels turning. As for electrocution - there are many documented cases of electrocutions gone wrong. Commonly cited is the case of Pedro Medina who was electrocuted, his body caught on fire, and basically he sat there burning for a while before he died....second article. These should at least get you started.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/23/AR2007042301671.html

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/02/07/us-electric-chair-banned-cruel-unusual-punishment

I don't know how long your paper has to be but you should be able to find more than enough information to blab for 2 - 40 pages.
Apr 13 2009 10:03AM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
i love the death penalty they should actually change it so you are killed the same way that you killed the person you are getting the death penalty for.

example: you rape and strangle a girl. a robot should rape you and strangle you.
Apr 13 2009 10:21AM
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tommyp1ckles
Posts: 1337 - Karma: 55
i dont agree with it ... the maximum penalty should be life.
Apr 13 2009 10:42AM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349

+1

im sure you heard about the three cops slain in Pittsburg.

the bastard is quoted saying that he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory but decided to surrender after killing three cops so he could write a book. when he was told that one of the four cops that he had shot had survived, he remarked "oh, i thought i got that one too"

this guy needs to be tied to a pole and shot and they should let the fellow cops be the ones to do it.

Apr 13 2009 10:47AM
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skithesprings
Posts: 9086 - Karma: 1,349
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514255,00.html

(from another thread)

Apr 13 2009 10:49AM
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bailer
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 14

although i agree this guy is fucked in the head,he is a product of our society. he grew up as a product of our system so it's kind of fitting that our system should pay for his actions.

this kind of backward thought of getting revengeis on the same level his actions were. revenge doesn’t solve anything it justmakes dumb people feel better for the wrong reasons.

Apr 13 2009 12:23PM
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KFRADtheLaxBro
Posts: 632 - Karma: 10
No person should ever be put do death. If people would learn to forgive this world would be a better place.
Apr 13 2009 12:43PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
ya and the world doesnt work like that sorry to tell you..


about that graph.. you have to be fucking crazy to think russia doesnt kill people lol!
Apr 13 2009 2:12PM
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kirkeby
Posts: 81 - Karma: 31
I think it's stupid since it's more expensive to execute a man than keep him in a prison cell for the rest of his life.
Apr 13 2009 2:15PM
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An10a_Eng
Posts: 2505 - Karma: 28
it is not used frequently enough
Apr 13 2009 2:36PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
it costs something like 30,000 a year for inmate to live in prison im sure it would cost that or less to just kill them.
Apr 13 2009 2:49PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
It's because we don't use 10 cent bullets anymore.
Apr 13 2009 3:24PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
ya and u can also mix house hold chemicals together and inject them into someones blood stream and they will die that cant cost to much.
Apr 13 2009 3:28PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
im not really for it, if nothing else than because sometimes we fuck up, dont wanna kill an innocent dude
Apr 13 2009 7:10PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
WINNER! (not 100% serial but i like your thinking)


a little off topic here but its kinda relevant... what do we do with the little shit head pirate they captured off of Somalia? he is not a member of an army. he is not a US citizen. what is he?  where does he go? do you really pay for this shit to have a civil trial? military tribunal? what?
Apr 13 2009 9:30PM
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LineAddiction9
Posts: 616 - Karma: 12
WE SHOULD KILL YOU
Apr 13 2009 10:05PM
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Delphi
Posts: 3748 - Karma: 36
"an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"- this is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Good thing FDR didn't employ this bullshit philosophy when the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor.
Apr 13 2009 10:22PM
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ReetsAdeets
Posts: 1531 - Karma: 611
I think that sometimes the death penalty is a just punishment, but doesnt it seem like it would suck even more to keep someone locked in a cell for the rest of their life? It would be like being grounded for life, but way way way worse.  The guy would just sit there, going crazy, thinking, "AAAAAH! What a dumbfuck I am!! I wasted my life!!" well, at least if he was sane he would.
Apr 13 2009 10:44PM
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blackoutbill
Posts: 2918 - Karma: 282
The problem is our constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punisment so hangings and such would be unconstitutional

Apr 13 2009 11:00PM
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Jay31
Posts: 796 - Karma: 11
I am completely against the death penalty as i believe that nobody as humans has the right to take another human's life, even if it is to punish a murder.  It still doesn't clear the executor, or minds behind the execution of any guilt or crime.  Why should the punishment for a crime, be the crime itself? 

Also, if the belief behind a death penalty is that 'if you kill a man, you should be killed', then what about self defense cases, insane people, substance abuse cases, or even military action for that matter.  If a soldier kills a civilian in combat (easier topic to argue than getting into a whole pro/anti-war debate), shouldn't they be killed to.  What is the difference between killing in the heat of combat or heat of passion.  The main problem is that if you say it is alright to kill somebody as long as they killed somebody else, where will the line be drawn.  People will always push the limits and boundaries of a logical decision to make it encapsulate all of their needs and eventually it will get out of control. 
Apr 13 2009 11:41PM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Really the only reason capital punishment still exists in this country is because of misconceptions that are perpetuated by the uneducated.  Don't make assumptions before you formulate an opinion, because you are way, way off the mark in this case...among others.  Simple-minded barbarism is not a viable way to govern in the modern world, and it would be fantastic if we could not mire ourselves in ridiculous practices like these. 
Apr 13 2009 11:48PM
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charmander
Posts: 10636 - Karma: 372
i think...

sex crimes, murder should equal shot to the back of the head.
right there in the court room, no fucking around.
Apr 13 2009 11:57PM
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8ONE657
Posts: 3045 - Karma: 209
abso fucking lutely for it. i understand the bible says thou shalt not kill and you can argue you that all you want. but do you think that someone who committed a crime so heinous should be allowed to even sleep in a bed, in a building with a roof, have most requests met that they make? HELLL NO!

and for the poor poor inmates who warn of the pain brought on my the lethal injection.. ahahahaha
i'll take a gun and kill you myself. when someone you know becomes a victim maybe you will see the rage it brings. justice needs to be served.

i am sick and tired of my tax money being spent on prisons so that people who commit crimes can have playtime and satellite tv and better medical care than most US citizens and more food than fucking homeless people who are out of a job.

it sickens me to know that after someone could rape a little 3 year old girl and then tear her body up by dismembering her and then burying her in a field or tossing her in a river...may be able to live on death row because they don't think their being tried fairly. and whats worse is that there are people in this country who will fight for that disgusting waste of life to stay alive all because they don't believe in the death penalty. WTF?!
Apr 14 2009 3:19AM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
so what you are saying is if someone killed a family member of yours you would be cool with that person just living the rest of there life out in prison having a not so bad life. enjoying tv, food and good doctors oh and not to mention they would be living off of your money.
Apr 14 2009 8:48AM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
oh and one bullet for my .45 costs like $1.25, thats pretty cheap one of those a gun and the back of a guys head sounds alright to me. you sound like a fuckin hippie go live in a tent out in the woods dude.
Apr 14 2009 8:50AM
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8ONE657
Posts: 3045 - Karma: 209
i think it would be pretty tough to kill just a random criminal...depending on how enraged i was i know i could but if it was someone who personally wronged me i would have no trouble at all and would actually prefer to do it this way.

i completely agree that the criminal should be killed using the crime he committed as foul as people think that as well...he did it first. it would be tough to replicate the crime obvi but still i don't think there is anything wrong with that. shit gitmo should still be open...you think i want fuckin terrorists coming to US prisons?
Apr 14 2009 8:54AM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
but what about when were wrong? when we kill the wrong guy?
Apr 14 2009 9:24AM
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Aenigma
Posts: 11256 - Karma: 424
Yes, that is what I am saying.  Go to prison and tell me how much you enjoy it, from what I have heard it isn't quite as spectacular as you just described it.  And seriously, you simply cannot use any kind of monetary argument here.  The days of vigilante yee-haw justice are long gone, although what we have now is really just its glorified, expensive equivalent. 
Apr 14 2009 10:08AM
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Casey
Posts: 7785 - Karma: 23,466

I guess I'm not really morally opposed to someone dying for killing another person, people do terrible shit to each other. But, this country has a history of executing innocents and sending innocents to jail based on prejudices or fraudulent activity by police, or shitty representation because of poverty or whatever reason you can think of, and innocent people have died. I just dont' think it is right for someone who wasn't there at the scene of the crime and didn't see what happened to have such a certainty of a persons guilt that they feel comfortable killing them. Its not like maximum security prison is a picnic, that should be enough to quench our thirst for vengence.

Apr 14 2009 10:24AM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
lets see....america has overcrowded prison and a shitty infrastructure.  penal labor camps?  gulag!
Apr 14 2009 10:31AM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
my friend's dad was the public defender who drew gary ridgeway.  now he's making bank off of books about the trial.  way to exploit the horror caused to 75 families.
Apr 14 2009 10:34AM
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InkShrink
Posts: 1079 - Karma: 30

I go a bit both ways with the DP.

If I were a friend of someone who was murdered, I'd want the guy to be killed.

If I were a friend of the guy who did it, I'd want him to have life in prison.

People say they have definite beliefs, but the truth of the matter is people can change their mind in a split second when it happens to them. You can be against the DP your whole life until some punk murders your mom with a butcher knife, then you're all for it.

Unless you're involved in a situation concerning DP you don't truly know what you'll choose, we're all under a veil of ignorance.

Apr 14 2009 10:52AM
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Shredneck
Posts: 2051 - Karma: -32
Im for the concept of if you brutally kill someone you should be killed, but too often innocent people are released from prison because after 15 years they found some DNA that acquitted them. I don't think our government should have the power to kill but I think terrible people should be killed. I just think families should go vigilante
Apr 14 2009 12:28PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
well how about this then, if someone in your family is killed you save the public their money and you pay for that guy to live his days out in prison because i sure as hell dont want to.
Apr 14 2009 2:25PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
shut the fuck up. tell you what, when someone in your family is accused of killing someone, but didnt, well just kill em anyway, k?
Apr 14 2009 2:30PM
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8ONE657
Posts: 3045 - Karma: 209
that is why the death penalty is so costly due to the court fees!
you don't think that they seriously investigate before just saying someone is guilty
and plus you have a chance to file for an appeal. no, i can't say that someone in my family has ever murdered someone, but the majority of time people are wrongly accused of a crime it isn't for a horrific crime that is worthy of the death penalty.
Apr 14 2009 2:35PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
it happens though. it has happened. sometimes they fuck up a case. are you trying to say an innocent life isnt worth some money?
Apr 14 2009 2:36PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
hahaha dont act like the little boy that you are. im obviously talking about well tried people. everyone should have a chance for appeal but not 2 3 or 4 appeals that is a waste.
Apr 14 2009 2:39PM
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Ben.
Posts: 21463 - Karma: 683
sure they might be well tried, BUT SOMETIMES THEY STILL PUT INNOCENT PEOPLE IN JAIL.


and dont little boy me
Apr 14 2009 2:41PM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11630 - Karma: 24,465
thats why you obey the fuckin law
Apr 14 2009 2:42PM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11630 - Karma: 24,465
that why you obey the fuckin law
Apr 14 2009 2:43PM
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PhaedeD
Posts: 11498 - Karma: 327
listen little man everyone knows there are innocent people in jail that is a fact but murder cases are a little different sure there are a few innocent people im sure but for the most part they arent the ones sitting on death row. you understand that kid?
Apr 14 2009 2:46PM
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8ONE657
Posts: 3045 - Karma: 209
you cannot put a price tag on life....yes innocent people are jailed everyday.
but how many innocent people have been put do death (honestly idk a statistic..find me one please?)
you have 6 months to file an appeal in the state of florida which is considered the state with the highest amount of innocent inmates. trust me i think if you are innocent you'd be right on that.

i found this interesting to read.

http://www.truthinjustice.org/fla-deathrow.htm

no matter what i am for the DP and there is nothing that will change my mind.

and nvm i found a website about wrongful convictions

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty
Apr 14 2009 2:48PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
so basically you are saying that the benefits that we reap from executing people greatly outweigh the consequences of executing an innocent person here and there?
Apr 14 2009 3:01PM
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king.tubby
Posts: 2865 - Karma: 122
kill 'em, kill 'em all
Apr 14 2009 3:03PM
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