Time for the US to abolish the Death Penalty

[Papawx3]

You obviously never spent time in prison. they are not country clubs.

No, nor do I ever plan to. Yes, I realize that I'm one of those people you absolutely detest - the working class, church-going, gun-wielding, law abiding private citizen who believes criminals should be punished both swiftly and harshly.

Look Cletus, I was just saying that prisons are not a walk in the park.

No, not when compared to the comforts of a person's home. But when compared to other conditions, such as homelessness (especially in the winter) prison can be much more comfortable than living on the streets.

 

[IlarMeilyr]

No, nor do I ever plan to. Yes, I realize that I'm one of those people you absolutely detest - the working class, church-going, gun-wielding, law abiding private citizen who believes criminals should be punished both swiftly and harshly.

Look Cletus, I was just saying that prisons are not a walk in the park.

No, not when compared to the comforts of a person's home. But when compared to other conditions, such as homelessness (especially in the winter) prison can be much more comfortable than living on the streets.

BUt but but

he called you "Cletus."

That means he WINS the internet!

 

[Papawx3]

Look Cletus, I was just saying that prisons are not a walk in the park.

No, not when compared to the comforts of a person's home. But when compared to other conditions, such as homelessness (especially in the winter) prison can be much more comfortable than living on the streets.

BUt but but

he called you "Cletus."

That means he WINS the internet!

I never told him my name so I'll be hornswoggled if I know how he knew!

Edit: Look here. I've been around for well over a half-century. Throughout all that time I've been called a lot of names by a lot of different people and most of them were a whole lot worse than plain old 'Cletus'. Life's too short to get upset over a little thing like someone calling me names.
Isn't that right, NoNuts??

 

[rightwinger]

Where did you get the idea that the death penalty is supposed to reduce crime and murder rates? That's like thinking an "assault" weapon ban will reduce crime and murder. Criminals and murderers are out there. Always have been, always will be. It isn't going away. You can slap evil people on the wrist for murdering innocent people by putting them in a cell and feeding them for the rest of their life or you can penalize them by depriving them of life just as they did to an innocent person. If the death penalty gives someone pause when they are thinking of killing someone, great. If not, here is the price you pay. It's called justice.

Same "justice" that the muslims we condemn embrace

Not at all, but you already know that. They put people to death for superstitious reasons. We do not.

They kill because the Koran tells them to
We kill because the Bible tells us to

Same superstitions

 

[jtpr312]

We have 2 really bad stains on us as a country,capital punishment is one of them,and should go. There is no place in a civilized world for capital punishment.

That's the kind of sentiment that emboldens criminals and causes the taxpayers of this country to have to continually pay for building and operating more jails and prisons and the people to man them. The criminals aren't afraid of getting caught because even if they do, when they go to jail they'll have better accommodations than they could provide on their own if they had to get out and work for a living.
Whatever we do, let's not discourage the criminals. They deserve the most 'civilized' of our behavior.

You obviously never spent time in prison. they are not country clubs.

Actaully some are a bit like country clubs, but that's not an issue as nobody is saying they are. What is being said is that most have gym equipment, you can get TV's, you can purchase snacks, candy, etc, you get free medical care, free dental care, three meals a day, dope if you have the cash to pay for it, and a warm bed to sleep in every night, things like medical, dental, three meals a day and a warm bed are things not even every free law abiding citizen enjoys. These people are there to be punished, they should not have any "extras" No TV, no gym equipment, no recreration time, nothing but the most basic medical care, tylenol, bandaids and plaster for broken bones, hell we're trying to give some of these scum sucking low lifes sex change operations. As for dental, you got a tooth ache, pull it, no bridges, no root canals, no fillings, nothing. No candy, no chips, no sodas, no honey buns, nothing. Water and the minimum amount of food for them to live on, with them growing their own when ever possible. The truth is most youngsters are NOT afraid of going to prison, as a matter of fact most think of it as a certain right of passage. The biggest reason for this is because so many of their peers come back from prison with stories of how it's no big deal and then prove this fact by going back again and again and again.

 

[jtpr312]

In order to join the EU, you cannot have the capital punishment.

That alone would be a great reason to have the death penalty in your nation.

I see the idiots have signed in. How much time have you spent living in Europe to be able to compare it to the United States?

I don't have to live somewhere to know about the policies, problems, economies, tensions, and bs of the place, I just need to study up on those nations. Furthermore I still have family in three different nations that are part of the EU and converse with them regularly. You do know your computer can be used for more than blogging and porn right douche?

 

[jtpr312]

No, we need to impliment it more often and far quicker. We need to ban scum sitting on death row, sucking up millions of dollars of the tax payer's money in worthless appeals for 10, 20yrs or longer and make the system go from conviction to execution in the same day.

If someone you loved was mistakenly convicted for murder, you would not feel this way.

Yeah, and if my Aunt had a penis she'd be my uncle. Save your what if scenerios for someone else slick, I ain't buying.

 

[Vandalshandle]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have struggled with this all my life, and have finally come to the conclusion that we should abolish the death penalty. If the state sanctions executions, they are, in effect, telling people like Tomothy McVeigh that killing is justified if you believe someone deserves it. Secondly, I think that in most cases, a lifetime in high security prison is worse than death. Third, there have been too many convicted murderers who have been proven innocent and released. Fourth, it is an emotional response to henious crime. It is not a solution.

 

[yidnar]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i agree !! lets stop sentencing unborn children to death .

 

[jtpr312]

Killing is, by definition, anti-social.

When society kills, it is schizophrenic. It is impossible to reconcile this action.

If someone were to track down and execute convicted killers, that person would be stopped if possible and considered a criminal.

It's obvious that you don't know the meaning of Schizophrenia, carry on though, always in the mood for a giggle.

 

[Vandalshandle]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i agree !! lets stop sentencing unborn children to death .

I see the bait, but I aint biting....

 

[rightwinger]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have struggled with this all my life, and have finally come to the conclusion that we should abolish the death penalty. If the state sanctions executions, they are, in effect, telling people like Tomothy McVeigh that killing is justified if you believe someone deserves it. Secondly, I think that in most cases, a lifetime in high security prison is worse than death. Third, there have been too many convicted murderers who have been proven innocent and released. Fourth, it is an emotional response to henious crime. It is not a solution.

Our country should have moved past barbarism by now

In fact, most of the country has

 

[Quantum Windbag]

There are some really bad people who deserve the death penalty though.

I fully agree. In fact, I will state that anyone who does not have a better dead list is living in a fantasy land. That does not change the fact that I do not want my government to kill anyone just because someone, even if it is me, thinks they deserve it. It is immoral and reprehensible, and makes all of us into murderers who do not deserve the protections of the law.

Fwiw, those people who are on death row have been tried by a jury of their peers in a court of law for crimes that have been deemed by law to be punishable by death. In those cases, the juries have recommended the death penalty and the presiding judges have handed down the appropriate sentence. So to rebut your argument: While it is true the government runs the prisons and will be carrying out the executions, it is not 'the government' per se that is killing them. It is the legislative branch of the government that passed the death penalty through it's procedures. It is the executive branch of government that actually signed it into law. Lastly, it is the judicial branch, coupled with a jury of citizens from that community, that tried and convicted them and sentenced them to die.
So before you go spouting off about not wanting your government to kill someone, think about what it has taken to put those laws on the books in the first place, and what the person who received that sentence has been convicted of doing to put him/herself in their spot on death row.

That in no way rebuts my argument that I do not want the government to kill just because someone thinks it is a good idea.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I agree with you completely. All modern, industrialized, first world nations except the US have abolished the death penalty. We have all indication it does not deter crime. It is only a matter of revenge. It creates, imo, a more violent culture overall, that as well as the quantity and quality of fireams in this country. And the amount of military force we use all over the world. We've become the poster child for a violent society.

OMG, we need to stop killing people because noone else does it.

Guess what else none of those countries has, freedom of speech and the press. Should we drop that to just because they don't do it?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Next, and I will direct this also to "Statism", the death penalty does not make us into murderers. The definition of murder is: "The unlawful killing of one human by another, especially with premeditated malice." Considering the that the death penalty is a combination of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of the government AND a jury of citizens that deemed that punishment to be appropriate, the lawful execution of a person IS NOT murder.

Does that mean that if I shoot someone someplace where there is no law it is not murder? Or dies it just mean you are grasping at straws?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

We said the same thing about slavery

We were one of the last nations to abolish that too

The people that said that were right, we should abolish it because it is wrong, not because it looks good.

It demonstrates shifting morals of the world. There was a time when the US set the standards........now we ride the short bus

The US never led the world on morals, we led the world on freedom and self righteousness. Thanks for playing.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

It all comes down to morality.

By 1860, most of the world had abandoned the institution of slavery. The US fought to maintain it, led by the same "Bible Belt" states that still cling to Capital Punishment

History repeats itself

New York is a Bible Belt state? They fought long and hard, and managed to reinstate the death penalty in 2005. To be fair, they were pretty reluctant to free their slaves, so you might have a point.

What was the name of the last person NY executed? As a hint......they still used Old Sparky

Doesn't change the fact that that it was reinstalled, does it?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

90% of the world no longer uses the Death Penalty

The US is among a lustrious group that continues to execute prisoners. That group includes China, Iran, Iraq, N Korea and Saudi Arabia......Something all Americans can be proud of

Use of capital punishment by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I came into this thread hoping to find a well though out argument opposing the death penalty, instead I find drivel. If this is the best that liberals and progressives can come up with to challenge the most reprehensible thing the state does in the name of its citizens it is no wonder that the US still has the death penalty.

We have killed innocent people,thats all you need to know. Its not in any shape or form effective.

I suggest you read my posts opposing the death penalty and slap yourself for jumping to conclusions.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

The US is now associated with the barbaric regimes we once condemned in terms of still relying on capital punishment as a remedy for our nations ills

China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,Yemen, The United States.....What is wrong with that picture

Thank God we have Texas executing the bulk of our prisoners. We even have conservatives cheering the death count. If Texas were a country, they would rank in the top 10 globally in terms of people executed

There a lot of differences between those countries and ours.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I have no faith in people's ability to determine innocence or guilt and therefore no faith in the jury system.

For that reason alone the death penalty should be abandoned. Life in prison without the possibility of parole suffices. I personally think prisons should be punishment. No TVs no weight rooms etc just a regimented existence until you either serve your sentence or die.

There are lots of practical reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. Takes too long to implement. Too expensive. Innocent people being executed. I think all of these arguments beg the question. The death penalty should be abolished because it is morally wrong. All of the practical reasons for abolishing the death penalty could, theoretically, be remedied. The appeal process could be made to be much swifter. That would go a long way toward solving the expense problem. The jury system could be improved. You could solve ALL of the practical problems that go along with the death penalty and then what?

It should still be abolished because it is morally wrong.

That is the ultimate argument against it.