Death Penalty Yay or Nay?

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue][QUOTE=Sandy]Could you please show me the point where I implied that, because I thought I very clearly said the opposite. I tried to say that it is far more rare for your neighbor/relative/friend to be a psycopath and a murderer than a drunk driver.

But of course you people seem to have the right to condemn people just off the bat. I at least know, coming from a family of alcoholists, that things are rarely that simple.[/QUOTE]There's no need to get worked up Sandy, I misunderstood what you were saying. It's not your fault, but it's often the argument around here that drunk drivers are someone you know where the other more vicious criminals aren't, even though they too are someone you know.

People here are often act shocked that someone is a murderer or rapist and yet ignore the ramifications of someone being a drunk driver as if it's no big deal when in fact it is a big deal.

Last time I checked the number of deaths due to drunk driving was as high as the number of people murdered in the same time frame here in the US and yet people continue to act like it's no big deal.

I wasn't trying to give you a hard time. You live in a different country so the implication that I picked up from your post probably isn't accurate since it?s probably different where you live.

When people say that here it?s what I just outlined, an attempt to act like we should love our neighbors and support them instead of recognizing it?s a sickness that we need to deal with. And while I don't think it warrants the death penalty, it definately needs to be dealt with on a more strict basis for repeat offenders. [/COLOR]

[Retribution]

[quote name='Sara][color=#b0000b][size=1]At what point in this thread did the conversation move from discussing the death penalty to attacking Aaryanna_Mom for her perceived lack of political involvement?[/size'][/color][/quote]
[size=1]When I realized her only legitimate reason for supporting capital punishment was the fact the current laws were inadequate. I told her to fight for more stringent laws to try to counter one of her points.[/size]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']When I realized her only legitimate reason for supporting capital punishment was the fact the current laws were inadequate. I told her to fight for more stringent laws to try to counter one of her points.[/size][/quote]Well I certainly didn?t take any offense at the implication if that?s what people are wondering. ;) To be honest, another reason is that I just don?t have the time or the energy to really get involved in politics anymore. So I tend to pick the things that interest me the most and leave the rest alone. And I?m not just saying that. Most of the people who know me personally understand this. I?ve had to give up a lot of things since my health made me disabled. I use to be far more active in a lot of things than I am now and it?s only my desire to see positive changes that keep me involved at all.

I?m sure you could list lots of easy ways for one to be involved, but I no longer have the same drive and interest that I use to. I?m sure I?m not the only one who goes through times of feeling more inclined to be actively involved and times of feeling more inclined to not be more involved in politics.

[DarkFactor]

I'm sure all of these points have been made, and made in a more clear and deliberate fashion than the manner in which I am about to make them, but I'll do my best with this.

Why I do not support the death penalty

1) Follow the money: If you think it is more expensive to keep murdering-criminals alive, watching t.v. working out, and doing menial labour, then you are wrong. It actually costs more to kill them, Everything down to the pad they use to sterilize the needle (which makes very little sense) to the huge cost of the autorneys which their right garauntees them during their many apeals while on death row, all of it costs money. Lots and lots of tax-payer's money.

2) If not for justice than for vengence: If they're in prison then they're off the streets. Justice is hardly administered since the murders these people commit are often violent, and yet they are disposed of humanely. There is no equity in the death penalty. Equity in the system would be a tribunal council which determines their fate acording to the severity of thei crime... Though that seems like something of a horror-sci-fi thriller than a justice system, and I honestly could never actually advocate something like that.

3) Global Conformity: Most civilized industrialized nations did away with the death penalty along time ago, and we should have left it abolished in the 70's

4) Life is sacred: Most of the people in America and our government display some degree of humanism. Logically most humanists would argue that the death penalty is barbaric.

5) Racism: the system keeps ethnic people down. That is fact. Racial inequality still exists in our court-rooms.

Basically it just doesn't make sense. And this is coming from someone who had a close friend violently murdered.

[Drix D'Zanth]

I think it was a German Holocaust survivor who plainly laid out the paradox of the death penalty. This is a simple logical argument that basically can serve as a rebuttal to any arguments for the death penalty. You are encouraged to debate this, as usual:

1.Murder is the killing of an innocent human being (let?s avoid the ambiguity when it comes to movtive, premeditation, etc- you?ll see why that?s irrelevant)

2.The death penalty is based on a justice system which is subject to human error.

3.Innocent people are killed by the death penalty (in reference to the earlier parentheses; this is clearly a premeditated killing).

4.The state murders innocent people.

5.We are the state.

6.If the death penalty is just, we deserve the death penalty.

[black rurouni]

i'm so-so on the death penalty because if the person kill your family you want pay back. But if a person of different race and the judge doesn't like that race he will kill him. But the many is i Believe that no man should take the life of another but god. :cool:

[Jonesy251]

I'm against the death penalty because I also believe that no one has the right to take another person's life, regardless of the crime that has been committed. It just seems to me that nothing is gained by taking a person's life as reciprocity for a heinous crime. I believe that the people that commit theses crimes have serious mental problems and should receive therapy and supervision before being reintroduced to society. If this is not an option, then they should be confined for the remainder of their lives.