Death Penalty

[Redrum_69]

what would you prefer...to pay for a prisoners daily food intake, activities, education etc..while he is on deathrow or in prison?

or

reinstate hangings, torture, drawn and quartered, etc to discourage crime?

[eazyb81]

The death penalty is used much less often than it should be, IMO.

[Iowanian]

I'd like to put up a wind turbine to generate electricity at prisons....and get an extra carbon credit for the Green Friendly-electric chair.

[Direckshun]

The death penalty isn't the deterrant of crime everybody thinks it is.

I oppose the death penalty mainly because of our legal shortcomings regarding it. The fact that people on death row are sometimes cleared of their crimes due to new evidence resolves the issue for me.

Would I execute 1 innocent man if it meant 500 guilty rapists and murderers were executed as well?

I will always say no to that.

[Iowanian]

I feel that if you are a big enough scumbag, to deserve the death penalty, your last meal should be a smoothie, created by the 2 girls with 1 cup.

[SHTSPRAYER]

what would you prefer...to pay for a prisoners daily food intake, activities, education etc..while he is on deathrow or in prison?

or

reinstate hangings, torture, drawn and quartered, etc to discourage crime?

I liked George Carlin's idea, pay per view executions. It would eliminate the national debt.

[MOhillbilly]

make hardcore criminals bust rock....with each others heads.

[Direckshun]

I liked George Carlin's idea, pay per view executions. It would eliminate the national debt.
ROFL

That idea actually doesn't suck.

You KNOW those bitches would be fully funded.

[HolmeZz]

The death penalty isn't the deterrant of crime everybody thinks it is.

I oppose the death penalty mainly because of our legal shortcomings regarding it. The fact that people on death row are sometimes cleared of their crimes due to new evidence resolves the issue for me.

Would I execute 1 innocent man if it meant 500 guilty rapists and murderers were executed as well?

I will always say no to that.

That's why I'm surprised most conservatives aren't anti-death penalty.

[SHTSPRAYER]

Would I execute 1 innocent man if it meant 500 guilty rapists and murderers were executed as well?



That's a red herring. :rolleyes:

Name all of the former death row inmates that were cleared later on.

[HolmeZz]

That's a red herring. :rolleyes:

Name all of the former death row inmates that were cleared later on.

:spock: You really don't think there's ever been an innocent person put on death row or even executed?

[mlyonsd]

If the death penalty saves one, just one innocent person from getting murdered it's worth it. I'm not arguing it will deter every murderer but neither can anyone argue it won't deter at least some.

One innocent person is worth all the murderer's lives from here until kingdom come.

Oh, and to answer the question directly I'd bring back hanging.

[SHTSPRAYER]

:spock: You really don't think there's ever been an innocent person put on death row or even executed?

I don't know if there has. Do you?

[HolmeZz]

Yes, I do.

[SHTSPRAYER]

Yes, I do.


Ok. Is there a list I can see?

[HolmeZz]

Ok. Is there a list I can see?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution#Exonerations_and_pardons

That obviously doesn't count any instances where there were innocent people who never got exonerated.

[SHTSPRAYER]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution#Exonerations_and_pardons

That obviously doesn't count any instances where there were innocent people who never got exonerated.

I didn't see one case that indicated anything even resembling overwhelming evidence that a mistake was made.

It didn't look like any of the death row inmates were choir boys before winding up on death row, either.

[Radar Chief]

If the death penalty saves one, just one innocent person from getting murdered it's worth it. I'm not arguing it will deter every murderer but neither can anyone argue it won't deter at least some.

One innocent person is worth all the murderer's lives from here until kingdom come.

Last I bothered reading on it, there is no statistical correlation connecting the death penalty with the murder rate. Where the death penalty is rescinded the murder rate doesn’t rise significantly and where the death penalty is implemented the murder rate doesn’t fall significantly.
My understanding is that the murder rate can more easily be connected to the economy, believe it or not.
I guess desperate people do desperate things.

Oh, and to answer the question directly I'd bring back hanging.

There is a device that has been around for centuries that causes instant loss of all sensation and death within 6 seconds. The Guillotine.

[HolmeZz]

I didn't see one case that indicated anything even resembling overwhelming evidence that a mistake was made.

You're right, DNA isn't overwhelming evidence. LMAO

If they were exonerated, it's clear whatever 'overwhelming evidence' got them sentenced in the first place was false.

Guilty until proven innocent, eh?

[HolmeZz]

Last I bothered reading on it, there is no statistical correlation connecting the death penalty with the murder rate. Where the death penalty is rescinded the murder rate doesn’t rise significantly and where the death penalty is implemented the murder rate doesn’t fall significantly.
My understanding is that the murder rate can more easily be connected to the economy, believe it or not.
I guess desperate people do desperate things.

If you're going to commit the kind of heinous crimes that could get you life in prison, I don't really think you care that much about ultimately living or dying.

[SBK]

I'd prefer cruel and unusual punishment to the death penalty. 20 hour days of hard labor until someone works themselves to death is far more appealing to me for many of the people on death row.

A needle that puts you to sleep that you never wake up from is far too generous.

[SHTSPRAYER]

You're right, DNA isn't overwhelming evidence. LMAO


Which case was that?

[HolmeZz]

Which case was that?

Are you f*cking blind? Here's the first paragraph from the link I sent you:

"Newly-available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration and release of more than 15 death row inmates since 1992 in the US,[9] but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases. Kirk Bloodsworth was the first American to be freed from death row as a result of exoneration by DNA fingerprinting. Ray Krone is the 100th American to have received the death penalty and later be exonerated."

[Carlota69]

I'm for the death penalty as long as we know for sure they are guilty.

Plus, there's a case right now of a Mexican man (he is not a U.S.citizen) who for sure raped and killed a woman and is being held in Texas. Well apparently, the World Courts dont want Texas to execute him becasue of some international bullshit. That just seems wrong to me. I mean, I dont know the whole story, but did he do it? For Sure? Then execute his ass! Oh, and this case has been going on for 11 years. :shake:

[SHTSPRAYER]

Are you f*cking blind? Here's the first paragraph from the link I sent you:

"Newly-available DNA evidence has allowed the exoneration and release of more than 15 death row inmates since 1992 in the US,[9] but DNA evidence is only available in a fraction of capital cases. Kirk Bloodsworth was the first American to be freed from death row as a result of exoneration by DNA fingerprinting. Ray Krone is the 100th American to have received the death penalty and later be exonerated."

OK, so we now have DNA testing and these mistakes won't be made any more. So why are you against the death penalty?

[bkkcoh]

The death penalty isn't the deterrant of crime everybody thinks it is.

I oppose the death penalty mainly because of our legal shortcomings regarding it. The fact that people on death row are sometimes cleared of their crimes due to new evidence resolves the issue for me.

Would I execute 1 innocent man if it meant 500 guilty rapists and murderers were executed as well?

I will always say no to that.

The death penalty isn't a deterrent to crime at all, it is supposed to be a punishment for those who commit a crime serious enough for the prosecutor to bring up capital charges.


:spock: You really don't think there's ever been an innocent person put on death row or even executed?

Probably more criminals who have commited a crime and have never spent a day in jail for that crime then have been put to death wrongly.


You're right, DNA isn't overwhelming evidence. LMAO

If they were exonerated, it's clear whatever 'overwhelming evidence' got them sentenced in the first place was false.

Guilty until proven innocent, eh?

I would say the people that are on death row from 10 - 15 years ago, that may be the case. But if there isn't any question about the validity and the seriousness of the crime, there shouldn't be any reason not to have the death penalty instituted.

I personally feel that there should be a few crimes added to the capital list of crimes, violent rape, rape of a child among others.

[HolmeZz]

OK, so we now have DNA testing and these mistakes won't be made any more. So why are you against the death penalty?

:spock: For one, if you bothered to READ the paragraph I just posted, DNA evidence is allowed in only a fraction of capital cases. Number two, not every case is susceptible to being overturned by DNA evidence alone.

[bkkcoh]

I'm for the death penalty as long as we know for sure they are guilty.

Plus, there's a case right now of a Mexican man (he is not a U.S.citizen) who for sure raped and killed a woman and is being held in Texas. Well apparently, the World Courts dont want Texas to execute him becasue of some international bullshit. That just seems wrong to me. I mean, I dont know the whole story, but did he do it? For Sure? Then execute his ass! Oh, and this case has been going on for 11 years. :shake:

And he has met his maker and it has been sorted out. The execution took place.

[Radar Chief]

I'm for the death penalty as long as we know for sure they are guilty.

Plus, there's a case right now of a Mexican man (he is not a U.S.citizen) who for sure raped and killed a woman and is being held in Texas. Well apparently, the World Courts dont want Texas to execute him becasue of some international bullshit. That just seems wrong to me. I mean, I dont know the whole story, but did he do it? For Sure? Then execute his ass! Oh, and this case has been going on for 11 years. :shake:

IMO, if there is overwhelming physical evidence and at least two, maybe three, eyewitnesses the murderer should be fast tracked to the chair, chamber, whatever.

[SHTSPRAYER]

:spock: For one, if you bothered to READ the paragraph I just posted, DNA evidence is allowed in only a fraction of capital cases. Number two, not every case is susceptible to being overturned by DNA evidence alone.


I did read it. All it says is "15 have been exonerated since 1992". I think I'd like a bit more information than that.

[HolmeZz]

Probably more criminals who have commited a crime and have never spent a day in jail for that crime then have been put to death wrongly.

What the holy f*ck? LMAO

Did you really just argue that it's ok that some innocent people get executed because there have been plenty of guilty people who've been found innocent? LMAO

But if there isn't any question about the validity and the seriousness of the crime, there shouldn't be any reason not to have the death penalty instituted.

My objection to the death penalty has nothing to do with not wanting to see guilty people executed. They deserve to be executed, just not at the risk of an innocent person being executed(which is likely on par with the crime the guilty person committed).

[HolmeZz]

I did read it. All it says is "15 have been exonerated since 1992". I think I'd like a bit more information than that.

Considering you didn't even know that innocent people have been exonorated/executed, I think you've had enough information for one day.

[bkkcoh]

What the holy f*ck? LMAO

Did you really just argue that it's ok that some innocent people get executed because there have been plenty of guilty people who've been found innocent? LMAO
My objection to the death penalty has nothing to do with not wanting to see guilty people executed. They deserve to be executed, just not at the risk of an innocent person being executed(which is likely on par with the crime the guilty person committed).



Of course not, but can you say that a person is 100% guilty of a crime. AN eyewitness seeing the crime isn't a guarantee that what was seen was accurate, is it?

[HolmeZz]

Of course not, but can you say that a person is 100% guilty of a crime. AN eyewitness seeing the crime isn't a guarantee that what was seen was accurate, is it?

No and I have zero idea what your point is. The argument you're making sounds like it's one against the death penalty.

[Jilly]

This is just California, but the same can be said of numerous other states as well.... I pulled this from http://www.deathpenalty.org (yes, it is an alternative to the death penalty site, it might be biased, but the statistics are not)

And then, here is a link to a Fact Sheet: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf

2005 Los Angeles Times Study Finds California Spends $250 Million per Execution

Key Points:

* The California death penalty system costs taxpayers more than $114 million a year beyond the cost of simply keeping the convicts locked up for life. (This figure does not take into account additional court costs for post-conviction hearings in state and federal courts, estimated to exceed several million dollars.)

* With 11 executions spread over 27 years, on a per execution basis, California and federal taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each execution.

* It costs approximately $90,000 more a year to house an inmate on death row, than in the general prison population or $57.5 million annually.

* The Attorney General devotes about 15% of his budget, or $11 million annually to death penalty cases.

* The California Supreme Court spends $11.8 million on appointed counsel for death row inmates.

* The Office of the State Public Defender and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center spend a total of $22.3 million on defense for indigent defendants facing death.

* The federal court system spends approximately $12 million on defending death row inmates in federal court.

* No figures were given for the amount spent by the offices of County District Attorneys on the prosecution of capital cases, however these expenses are presumed to be in the tens of millions of dollars each year.


Source: Tempest, Rone, "Death Row Often Means a Long Life", Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2005.

[SHTSPRAYER]

Considering you didn't even know that innocent people have been exonorated/executed, I think you've had enough information for one day.


No, I haven't. Is 15 an arbitrary number? 15 out of how many on death row since 1992? How many have been executed that DNA shows beyond any shadow of doubt they did it?

[HolmeZz]

No, I haven't. Is 15 an arbitrary number? 15 out of how many on death row since 1992? How many have been executed that DNA shows beyond any shadow of doubt they did it?

Out of how many? You're arguing that as long as it was 15 out of a large number, those 15 innocent people were worth it? LMAO

[Donger]

I don't see the primary benefit of the death penalty is being a deterrent. If it does, great, but I see it as punishment first and foremost.

[bkkcoh]

I don't see the primary benefit of the death penalty is being a deterrent. If it does, great, but I see it as punishment first and foremost.


The only person that it deters from committing a crime is the person whom had the death penalty carried out.

[SHTSPRAYER]

Out of how many? You're arguing that as long as it was 15 out of a large number, those 15 innocent people were worth it? LMAO

Well I don't know if they were innocent if I don't even know who they are. I'd like to at least see the case files.

[Carlota69]

And he has met his maker and it has been sorted out. The execution took place.

Good. I saw that on the news yesterday morning, and was disgusted. he met his maker last night I take it?

[Carlota69]

IMO, if there is overwhelming physical evidence and at least two, maybe three, eyewitnesses the murderer should be fast tracked to the chair, chamber, whatever.

I'm with you. If it is without a doubt, then they should be done with quickly. No need to spend our tax money on those Pieces of Poop.

[Jilly]

The problem is not just witnesses or DNA, but with a broken system. Seriously, go to my previous post and look up the fact sheet, there's so much more to this.

[Direckshun]

Well I don't know if they were innocent if I don't even know who they are. I'd like to at least see the case files.
Well read in forensics, are you?

Jesus, SHTSPRAYER. In one thread you've argued that no innocent people have been put to death row and that it's okay to kill innocent people if we've killed a lot more guilty people.

You're not making a very good argument for your side, man.

[eazyb81]

I personally feel that there should be a few crimes added to the capital list of crimes, violent rape, rape of a child among others.

Agree 100% with this. Molestation and rape should certainly be added to murder for cases worthy of capital punishment. I'm a firm believer that people that commit such crimes cannot be rehabilitated, thus why should we give them additional opportunities to ruin more lives.

Fry them and eliminate them from our society.

[Carlota69]

Agree 100% with this. Molestation and rape should certainly be added to murder for cases worthy of capital punishment. I'm a firm believer that people that commit such crimes cannot be rehabilitated, thus why should we give them additional opportunities to ruin more lives.

Fry them and eliminate them from our society.

I agree. Rapists shouldnt be able to live after they've essentailly killed a part of someone else.

[2bikemike]

This is just California, but the same can be said of numerous other states as well.... I pulled this from http://www.deathpenalty.org (yes, it is an alternative to the death penalty site, it might be biased, but the statistics are not)

And then, here is a link to a Fact Sheet: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf

2005 Los Angeles Times Study Finds California Spends $250 Million per Execution

Key Points:

* The California death penalty system costs taxpayers more than $114 million a year beyond the cost of simply keeping the convicts locked up for life. (This figure does not take into account additional court costs for post-conviction hearings in state and federal courts, estimated to exceed several million dollars.)

* With 11 executions spread over 27 years, on a per execution basis, California and federal taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each execution.

* It costs approximately $90,000 more a year to house an inmate on death row, than in the general prison population or $57.5 million annually.

* The Attorney General devotes about 15% of his budget, or $11 million annually to death penalty cases.

* The California Supreme Court spends $11.8 million on appointed counsel for death row inmates.

* The Office of the State Public Defender and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center spend a total of $22.3 million on defense for indigent defendants facing death.

* The federal court system spends approximately $12 million on defending death row inmates in federal court.

* No figures were given for the amount spent by the offices of County District Attorneys on the prosecution of capital cases, however these expenses are presumed to be in the tens of millions of dollars each year.


Source: Tempest, Rone, "Death Row Often Means a Long Life", Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2005.


Thats because so many liberal organizations fight tooth and nail to prevent executions. There are way to many appeals in Death Row cases.

I say you get your original trial and one automatic appeal and then your fried within a month. That would reduce costs considerably.

[ClevelandBronco]

I'm opposed to the death penalty in all cases regardless of the circumstances.

On the other hand, my wife says that people who smoke weed ought to be executed.

I'm really not sure if she's speaking seriously. Maybe I should bring a bong home and see if she shoots me.

I wonder if she'd get the death penalty...

[Adam]

One argument that never does anything for me is that the death penalty costs more than locking them up for life. If that is true, then that is the problem that we should be focused on solving. It shouldn't even cost a bullet. As soon as the sentence is pronounced, give them 24 hours and then execute via hanging, guillotine, or something that can be repeatedly done without costly consumables or any appeal process.

Another argument that is steadily weakening for me is that people have been cleared after the fact by DNA evidence. Doesn't that just mean that our DNA technology has gotten so good that we can be absolutely certain now that we are killing the right guy?

[Mr. Kotter]

what would you prefer...to pay for a prisoners daily food intake, activities, education etc..while he is on deathrow or in prison?

or

reinstate hangings, torture, drawn and quartered, etc to discourage crime?

Make them suffer in prison.

Death row inmates should be forced to room with gay/bi 340 lb former defensive linemen from the NFL. In a 5x8 cell.

[jAZ]

I didn't see one case that indicated anything even resembling overwhelming evidence that a mistake was made.

It didn't look like any of the death row inmates were choir boys before winding up on death row, either.

WTF?

"Jesse Tafero ... was convicted ... of murdering two people in 1976 (and)... was sentenced to death based primarily on the testimony of a third person, Walter Rhodes... (who) recanted his testimony and claimed full responsibility for the crime. Despite Rhodes's admission, Tafero was executed in 1990."

[HonestChieffan]

Thats because so many liberal organizations fight tooth and nail to prevent executions. There are way to many appeals in Death Row cases.

I say you get your original trial and one automatic appeal and then your fried within a month. That would reduce costs considerably.

Spot on

[SHTSPRAYER]

#

[bkkcoh]

..
Another argument that is steadily weakening for me is that people have been cleared after the fact by DNA evidence. Doesn't that just mean that our DNA technology has gotten so good that we can be absolutely certain now that we are killing the right guy?


But take a look in the OJ Simpson case, there was a shadow of doubt placed on how the evidence was handled and most of the blood evidence was not convincing and/or trusted, that caused him to be acquitted. I dare say that everyone knows that OJ killed both Nicole and Ronald, but he is roaming free still looking for the killer.

[banyon]

OK, so we now have DNA testing and these mistakes won't be made any more. So why are you against the death penalty?

DNA evidence is often discovered in these cases months or years after the crime was prosecuted.

[banyon]

But take a look in the OJ Simpson case, there was a shadow of doubt placed on how the evidence was handled and most of the blood evidence was not convincing and/or trusted, that caused him to be acquitted. I dare say that everyone knows that OJ killed both Nicole and Ronald, but he is roaming free still looking for the killer.

Everyone understands that it's "innocent until proven guilty", right?

Because you're mad at OJ, other people need to die?

[el borracho]

Personally, I would like to see prison become a secure area only. No free food, no free utilities, no free medical- just a cell where you sit and rot. Prisoners would be given three options- 1)pay for their own services and goods 2)work in a controlled environment in exchange for services and goods 3)elect a free euthanization.

I figure if you are a good person all your life then there are probably people who would help pay for your accomodations and if you aren't a good person then there is no reason the rest of us should pay for you. Of course there would be some bad people with money who could afford their own but that is fine with me, too, as long as it doesn't come out of my pocket.

[Programmer]

The death penalty isn't the deterrant of crime everybody thinks it is.

I oppose the death penalty mainly because of our legal shortcomings regarding it. The fact that people on death row are sometimes cleared of their crimes due to new evidence resolves the issue for me.

Would I execute 1 innocent man if it meant 500 guilty rapists and murderers were executed as well?

I will always say no to that.

The death penalty isn't supposed to be a deterrant to crime, it's punishment for crime.

The legal shortcomings are getting fewer and further inbetween. With DNA no used for ID there is less chance of getting the wrong person convicted.

You are against execution. If one of your family members were brutally murdered and the murderer caught you would stand up and tell the judge that you didn't want them put to death?

This is just my opinion but I'd bet that you'd pull the release on the gallows or throw the switch on the electric chair.

My opinion of lethal injection is that it is too kind to the person that committed the crime. If what they did deserves the death penalty they need to go in the same manner as their victims.

[Programmer]

I'm for the death penalty as long as we know for sure they are guilty.

Plus, there's a case right now of a Mexican man (he is not a U.S.citizen) who for sure raped and killed a woman and is being held in Texas. Well apparently, the World Courts dont want Texas to execute him becasue of some international bullshit. That just seems wrong to me. I mean, I dont know the whole story, but did he do it? For Sure? Then execute his ass! Oh, and this case has been going on for 11 years. :shake:

Get the victim's family together and release him to their custody. (too late, I see he is gone.)

[Programmer]

I agree. Rapists shouldnt be able to live after they've essentailly killed a part of someone else.

I don't know if they deserve the death penalty, but they should have their balls cut off as well as their penis, with out anesthesia. They should also have to pay for the procedure and have to stitch up the leftovers. Then they should be put into a less than high security prision and let the rest of the population know they are rapists.

[Programmer]

DNA evidence is often discovered in these cases months or years after the crime was prosecuted.

So your point is?

If you were to prosecute a case with DNA available and it was a crime that could have the death penalty levied, would you push for it?

[Carlota69]

I don't know if they deserve the death penalty, but they should have their balls cut off as well as their penis, with out anesthesia. They should also have to pay for the procedure and have to stitch up the leftovers. Then they should be put into a less than high security prision and let the rest of the population know they are rapists.

That's not a bad option as well. AS long as they suffer something fierce, I can go along with that.

[banyon]

So your point is?

If you were to prosecute a case with DNA available and it was a crime that could have the death penalty levied, would you push for it?

Yes. I enforce the laws on the books. I don't agree with our marijuana laws either, but I'm not paid to have opinions on laws, I'm sworn to uphold them.

It's the legislature's job to correct these problems.

[Programmer]

Yes. I enforce the laws on the books. I don't agree with our marijuana laws either, but I'm not paid to have opinions on laws, I'm sworn to uphold them.

It's the legislature's job to correct these problems.

Why do you feel the marijuana laws are incorrect? (don't answer that).

The death penalty is one that is viable for some crimes as punishment not as a deterent. I have no problem with someone getting the death penalty for taking the lives of others. Proving it is your providence, but I wonder how hard an attorney would fight for the death penalty if he didn't feel it was a proper punishment for the crime committed.

[Direckshun]

The death penalty isn't supposed to be a deterrant to crime, it's punishment for crime.

The legal shortcomings are getting fewer and further inbetween. With DNA no used for ID there is less chance of getting the wrong person convicted.

You are against execution. If one of your family members were brutally murdered and the murderer caught you would stand up and tell the judge that you didn't want them put to death?

This is just my opinion but I'd bet that you'd pull the release on the gallows or throw the switch on the electric chair.

My opinion of lethal injection is that it is too kind to the person that committed the crime. If what they did deserves the death penalty they need to go in the same manner as their victims.
Well first, I understand that the death penalty is punishment, but there are those that argue it's a deterrent. It's not. The stats don't back that up.

I'll agree with you that the legal shortcomings are becoming more rare -- but they will never, ever, become airtight. And I do mean never. So all we're talking about is that it's becoming rarer and rarer that an innocent person be executed. I'd rather we never run that risk, others (including yourself I guess) would.

As for the Dukakis question you just tossed at me, of course I'd want the perpetrator dead. I'd want him strung up by nuthooks and all his limbs pulled from his body. I'd want to personally Gallagher a sledgehammer over his skull and laugh as the entrails from his head splash into the audience. I'd want to kill not only the perpetrator but the people who made him that way -- if he killed my son because his dad abused him, I'd want to track that guy down and drag him naked through a patch of barbed wire. I'd cut holes in the perp's achilles and drag him through Springfield, Illiad-style, honking my horn with a megaphone about how the next person out there thinking about doing harm to my family will suffer the same fate. I'd want to pull every toenail and fingernail from his body using the rustiest and filthiest pliars I could find. I'd want to penetrate his brain, learn his most embarrassing secrets, and publish them in the NYTimes so he would pass on from this life forever tarnished and remembered as The Man Who Made The Gravest Mistake In The History Of Humanity. And then I'd piss on his corpse and through it in a branch mulcher.

...Which is why I would not want the responsibility of what to do with the criminal. I'll leave that to more dispassionate (and therefore rational) people to decide his fate. I just want the guy to pay.

[Direckshun]

Where's your answer, Programmer?

[Programmer]

Where's your answer, Programmer?

I didn't think I needed to answer. We basically agreed other than the need to be 100% sure on all cases. It's not really possible but if the defense can't raise reasonable doubt in a case there might be a problem with the persons innocence.

I've never been on a jury, I've only been called once and that was when I was on a job in India and couldn't get back for the court date.

I don't know for sure if I could vote to hang someone or send them to the electric chair but I would like to have an opportunity to sit on a jury.

[JohnnyV13]

I didn't see one case that indicated anything even resembling overwhelming evidence that a mistake was made.

It didn't look like any of the death row inmates were choir boys before winding up on death row, either.

Earlier this decade, the state of Illinois had a morotorium on the death penalty because DNA studies of old forensic evidence indicated that 1/3 of the people on that state's death row were wrongly convicted. ONE THIRD. That's a fundamental breakdown in the justice system.

[JohnnyV13]

Agree 100% with this. Molestation and rape should certainly be added to murder for cases worthy of capital punishment. I'm a firm believer that people that commit such crimes cannot be rehabilitated, thus why should we give them additional opportunities to ruin more lives.

Fry them and eliminate them from our society.

What about mandatory chemical castration? You can give rapists medications which give them zero sex drive and no ability to have sex without cutting anything off.

Castrating an unwilling patient gives rise to a hippocratic oath problem.

[Programmer]

What about mandatory chemical castration? You can give rapists medications which give them zero sex drive and no ability to have sex without cutting anything off.

Castrating an unwilling patient gives rise to a hippocratic oath problem.

I don't think you need a doctor for that operation for that procedure, just turn the victim's family loose on the criminal. I'm sure the Hippocratic oath won't come into play.

[JohnnyV13]

I don't think you need a doctor for that operation for that procedure, just turn the victim's family loose on the criminal. I'm sure the Hippocratic oath won't come into play.

You're pretty vindictive for a self proclaimed religious person. Perhaps this attitude fits the book of Leviticus, but I'm not so sure its consonant with "Father, forgive them".

[Programmer]

You're pretty vindictive for a self proclaimed religious person. Perhaps this attitude fits the book of Leviticus, but I'm not so sure its consonant with "Father, forgive them".

God can and does for give anyone if they ask. That does not clear the record with the laws of the land in which you live. There are crimes that most feel need severe punishment. All crimes do not deserve the death penalty, but they do need some heavy handed punishment for some of the crimes that have been the topic of discussion here.

Jesus forgave one of the two men that were crucified with him, but it did not mean that the Romans would commute his death penalty. He died right there on the cross next to Jesus.