Capital Punishment

[BHAMBARONS]

I need to conduct a nationwide poll for my research paper, and I figures this is the best way to get it done. I also need to use some reply's so if you give your first name and state would be greatly welcomed. Please try and keep it civil

 

Thanks

Tom

[southsideirish71]

I need to conduct a nationwide poll for my research paper, and I figures this is the best way to get it done.  I also need to use some reply's so if you give your first name and state would be greatly welcomed. Please try and keep it civil

 

Thanks

Tom

 

 

I believe in the death penalty. I believe its a way to take the monsters from society and remove them from ever being able to hurt again.

 

Tom, Illinois

Edited January 29, 2006 by southsideirish71

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I need to conduct a nationwide poll for my research paper, and I figures this is the best way to get it done.  I also need to use some reply's so if you give your first name and state would be greatly welcomed. Please try and keep it civil

 

Thanks

Tom

 

 

Happy to oblige.

 

 

I am a firm believer in Capital Punishment not only as a deterrent but as a means to achieve justice for those who commit the most heinous of crimes.

 

Those who argue against it say that it is not a deterrent and is imposed in an arbitrary and racist fashion. They are correct. In its present form it is a broken system. Capital punishment needs to be implemented in a uniform manner for the worst of crimes and the convictions should be backed up by unmistakeable evidence ( think DNA matching and the like ) so as to prevent innocent people from getting the axe.

 

There are also those who say that life imprisonment is a viable alternative to the death penalty. These people are wrong. You give a life sentence to someone who does something so heinous and is so incapable of rehabilitation that they should never breathe free air again. If these people are so terrible then why should the public pay to warehouse them in prisons for decades?

 

 

Rob.

 

 

Arizona

Edited January 29, 2006 by NUKE_CLEVELAND

[Balta1701]

Man, there's no other option other than Yes or No?

 

Half of me despises the death penalty, for 2 reasons. 1...it is clearly not administered fairly under many, many circumstances. Race is clearly a gigantic factor. Economics and ability to afford quality legal respresentation are others. The odds are, quite simply, that somewhere in this country, probably Texas, several people who were actually innocent have been executed, just based on the sheer number of people released from death row after having convictions overturned.

 

Secondly...all evidence suggests it simply is NOT a deterrant. States with it simply do not, on average, see major decreases in crime due to its presence. You can cite a few places where it is associated with drops, but you can cite instances where it is associated with increases. As a deterrant I don't believe it works at all.

 

On the other hand...first, there is some level of closure involved for many families when the death penalty is administered. That should be an important factor...it is not the case for every family, but it is for enough families that it should be considered.

 

And secondly...if I were to truly say I were anti-death-penalty, I should be able to look at every single case and say the death penalty isn't warranted. Put Bin Laden in our jails after a fair trial and clear guilty verdict...and I simply cannot say that. If I cannot say that, I cannot say I oppose the death penalty.

 

So I guess my answer is a very guilty feeling yes, if I have to give one. But I really hate the fact that the system is so broken in this country that I feel terrible in that answer.

 

And y'all can call me "Brian".

Edited January 29, 2006 by Balta1701

[Rex Kickass]

I am a firm believer that premeditated murder is still murder, no matter the circumstances or intentions behind it.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Firmly against capital punishment. If the state says that murder is a crime, then it cannot murder in response.

 

Not to mention the fact that numerous people have been exonerated and that the death penalty is used quite disproportionately on the poor and minorities -- many of whom don't have adequate funds to mount a defense that would be adequate in a capital case. It is also cheaper in many states to sentence life in prison without parole than it is to go through with a capital case.

 

Neil

Manhattan (sometimes Urbana), IL

 

PS: Sorry so short but it is damn near 2 am, haha

[Texsox]

I am against the death penalty.

 

You can not bring someone back to life if an error was made.

 

Humans are flawed, the system to convict someone isn't foolproof. DNA labs have made mistakes, eyewitnesses are unreliable.

 

Our system is not equal for all. Wealthy accused have access to resources that keep them from being convicted, the poor have to rely on poorly trained, little experience, and few resources to mount a defense.

 

Drug dealers, gang members, and similar criminals already live in a world where someone could kill them in an instance. A government death penalty isn't a deterent. If possibly dying was a deterent, they couldn't be drug dealers and gang members.

 

The other major category of murderers are family members under severe emotional stress. They aren't stopping to think if their state will lock them up in prison forever, or condemn them to death.

 

There is no statistical difference showing capital punishment lowers the murder rate. Not state by state, or country by country.

 

Thou shall not kill doesn't have an asterisk.

 

When the government places little value on human life, so does the citizens. Capital punishment actually leads to more violence. The government should model the behavior they expect from the citizens.

 

Our constitution prevents cruel and unusual. If we allow the government to kill someone, could anything else be "unusual" or cruel?

 

Jim

[YASNY]

I'm against capitol punishment when it comes to unborn. They are totally innocent. As for the others, well, they reap what they sow.

 

Larry, Kentucky

[Texsox]

I'm against capitol punishment when it comes to unborn.  They are totally innocent.  As for the others, well, they reap what they sow.

 

Larry, Kentucky

 

nice, well played.

 

But Larry, if a jury sentenced the fetus to death, would you be ok with it? We could make a law that being an unwanted baby is eligible for the death penalty.

 

Pro-Life: From Conception to Grave. Say No to murder.

[kevin57]

I vote "yes" to capital punishment, but I believe in it only for the most heinous of criminals, the Timothy McVeighs of the world. Because I want it to be an option in such cases, "yes" was my choice, but it should be rarely applied. In my opinion, it should exist only as a societal statement that there are those (few) among us who have essentially forfeited their right to be called "humans." For instance, if Saddam is ever actually convicted, he would merit such a societal condemnation.

[CrimsonWeltall]

No, but because of current implementation (mistakes, possible biased use, can be very expensive due to long appeals process), rather than principle.

[samclemens]

not only do I support the death penalty whole-heartedly, but i am all for a fast tracking of the appeals. 1 appeal is enough for me. no reason to keep someone sitting on death row for over 15 years before killing them, get it over with and deal out some justice already.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

No, but because of current implementation (mistakes, possible biased use, can be very expensive due to long appeals process), rather than principle.

 

 

This is the one area of the capital punishment debate I agree with the other side on. The way we implement it is rediculous and very arbitrary. Uniform sentencing standards, and the need for fullproof evidence ( DNA and the like ) would go a long way to resolving that issue.

[Texsox]

This is the one area of the capital punishment debate I agree with the other side on.  The way we implement it is rediculous and very arbitrary.  Uniform sentencing standards, and the need for fullproof evidence ( DNA and the like ) would go a long way to resolving that issue.

 

Even DNA isn't 100%.

 

I'm glad y'al trust the government so much.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Even DNA isn't 100%.

 

I'm glad y'al trust the government so much.

 

 

What is it something like 1 in 19 million? Id say thats pretty fullproof.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

What is it something like 1 in 19 million?  Id say thats pretty fullproof.

Yeah, except when the FBI etc. has been nailed for falsifying evidence, including DNA evidence. Or you get like we did in Illinois with prosecutors not turning over exculiptory evidence, etc.

 

http://home.iprimus.com.au/dna_info/dna/JA..._20010925a.html -- for a few forensic lying bastards

[Gene Honda Civic]

I'm against enforcing the death penalty, but I like having it as an option.

 

I think it should only be used in extreme cases (Gacy, McVeigh, Dahmer, etc.)

[Milkman delivers]

I'm against enforcing the death penalty, but I like having it as an option.

 

I think it should only be used in extreme cases (Gacy, McVeigh, Dahmer, etc.)

 

Glitter

[NorthSideSox72]

I'd like to vote yes... but I can't.

 

I voted 'No'. Humans are flawed - death is not.

 

Matt, Illinois

[minors]

I am a strong believer in capital punishment. When you have cases of thugs shooting down 3 cops like they were dogs, they deserve an appropriate punishment and to the thought of LWOP we had a case where a lifer got parole because of prison over crowding he went shot a pregnant women twice in the head then burned her body then the next day goes to a motel robs it, ties up the clerk shoots her 4 times with a shotgun then kills 2 other witnesses the same way. Thugs like this deserve the death penalty.

[Texsox]

What is it something like 1 in 19 million?  Id say thats pretty fullproof.

 

Without research, I'm guessing that there have not been 19,000,000 DNA death penalty cases, yet there have been mistakes already. So the odds would seem to be less than 1 in 19 million.

[CrimsonWeltall]

Without research, I'm guessing that there have not been 19,000,000 DNA death penalty cases, yet there have been mistakes already. So the odds would seem to be less than 1 in 19 million.

 

Mistakes in cases where DNA was not used, I would think.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Without research, I'm guessing that there have not been 19,000,000 DNA death penalty cases, yet there have been mistakes already. So the odds would seem to be less than 1 in 19 million.

 

 

You misunderstand. There is a 1 in 19 million chance of someone having a spot on DNA match with another person.

[Texsox]

Mistakes in cases where DNA was not used, I would think.

 

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/183007_crimelab22.html

 

For the detective working the case, it looked like a sure thing. The 58-year-old suspect had confessed to raping his young niece. He had a prior sex-crime conviction.

 

    RELATED FEATURES

 

- DNA testing mistakes at the State Patrol crime labs

- Produce lab error rates, some urge

- How DNA is tested in crime labs (PDF; 165K)

- "Shadow of Doubt" special report

 

DNA evidence extracted from the 10-year-old girl's underwear would be the clincher.

 

Charged with child rape, the road-crew worker from the South King County town of Pacific faced up to 26 years in prison -- until authorities learned of startling test results coming out of the Washington State Patrol's Tacoma crime lab.

 

The genetic evidence excluded the victim's uncle and pointed to an unknown man. The airtight case suddenly had a gaping hole.

 

Four months later, on Jan. 8, 2002, prosecutors offered a deal. The defendant pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child molestation, shaving a decade off his sentence.

 

A couple of weeks after that, the lab made an embarrassing discovery.

 

 

The mystery man was a mistake.

 

Forensic scientist Mike Dornan had bungled the test, accidentally contaminating the child's clothing with DNA from another case he'd been working on.

 

Fortunatly the other man wasn't convicted.

 

A quick google search shows a lot of concerns.

[Soxy]

Against. It's a flawed system, and an error made under this system is too horrible to imagine.

 

I also don't want anyone killing in my name--even if it is after a full judicial trial. Like Rex said, I'm against murder and in my eyes if it's a gang banger pulling the trigger or the government pulling the proverbial trigger it's the same.

 

I also really don't feel that it is implemented fairly and equally across race (white people get it less) and gender (women get it less) and socio-economic status (rich people get it less)--so we don't even seem to implement it fairly.

 

eleni

new york