The Death Penalty

[Prisonic x Fairytale]

But i think the way they put the people to death would affect it to.
But it also comes to term with the "civil" way, if it was a harsher
punishment i think it would go down. But now days all they do is
inject chemicals.

[Ninth Pariah]

Comrade Tool

Ninth Pariah

Comrade Tool

Ninth Pariah

Comrade Tool

Ninth Pariah

There are certain terrible, heinous crimes a man can commit, that, in the willful commission of such a deed, is a forfeiture of one's humanity. At that point, it is more fitting to put them down as you would a dangerous animal.

And these crimes would be?

Rape. Serial murder. Torture.

There are some things all people can agree on the terrible nature of. Well, except maybe those who commit such crimes.

Also, on the cost thing: Rope is cheap. A short drop with a sudden stop is neither cruel nor unusual.

If you're raped it doesn't mean you're killed, so I don't see how rape=death penalty. Serial killers are usually mentally unstable, and to kill a mentally unstable person when you are mentally stable makes you how much better than the other person? Same thing with torture. There was a quote I once read, it went something like this:
" I can understand a man killing someone in passion, to gather around and debate whether to take the man's life, and then actually doing it is worse. Not only is it murder, it's conspiracy to commit murder too with a clear mind."
Hangings are cruel and unusual, at least in the developed countries. Usually you do that when you lynch people like when people hang gays in the middle east or when black people were lynched for wearing their army uniforms. It was a way to show you weren't even human.

Isn't the first thing I said that there are crimes which result in a forfeiture of your humanity? They aren't human, they're just another dangerous animal to be euthanized. Hangings aren't cruel if they're done right; measure it out, based on weight and muscle mass, and displace the brain stem from the spinal cord. Painless, instant death. They might still have sight and hearing for a few seconds, but they'll feel nothing.

Well now you have to prove they're not human anymore, good luck with that endeavor.

That's an opinion and I know that. But most people, while they might not agree with my logic, will agree on how to deal with them. s**t, most people would want to do worse than kill them.

[Khamsin]

Red Light District

Next week I'm in a debate concerning the Death penalty. I was assigned the Pro side of the argument. I'm having trouble coming up with reasons it should still exist. What is your opinion on corporal punishment? Why or why shouldn't it be utilized?

PRO: Garbage disposal. You take the violent, untreatable criminals and kill them. Makes space in the prisons, alleviates their burden on the system, and keeps them away from society. Everybody wins! Except for the violent, untreatable criminals. But who cares what they think. They'll be dead.

As Ron White says, "If you kill someone, we will kill you back."

Justice.

[Mauled by angry kittens]

M. Angel

Mauled by angry kittens

Warning: Wall of Text (I'm really passionate about this subject so bear with me)

The death penalty is barbaric and puts our people down at the level of the killer by killing for our own reasons. Taking a life is wrong no matter what context you put it in. I must also point out the cold hearted nature of our arguments thus-far. We talk about the costs to our taxpayers to keep a criminal in prison for life (which actually isn't that much more and in some cases, is even more costly) and don't consider the incredible cost financially and emotionally for the people close to the criminal in question. It victimizes the innocent family of the criminal. For those of us who don't sympathize with the criminals themselves, think about this: prison is a place of constant violence, filthy living, rape and all of those wonderful things. Would you rather spend the rest of your life in humiliation in a place like that or have it ended then and there?
Diplomatically, it makes the U.S. look bad. We are one of the last countries represented in the United Nations to abolish the death penalty and when our allies/trading partners see that, it makes us all look bad which in turn will cause problems for us outside of the UN.
I find it funny that many of the people who are pro-death penalty are also in favor of the commonly used middle school "sex ed" program slogan, "It doesn't matter how small the chance is. If there's a chance, there's a chance." The reason I find that interesting is because they also argue that the chance of an innocent person getting put to death is very low. We can't be absolutely sure that our investigations are thorough enough to convict a person. The death penalty has no room for error and cannot be reversed.
As an added bonus, many judges and juries in the past and present have been hesitant to convict the person for their own personal worries that it will result in the convicted being put to death. Not only that but the endless appeals that are almost always run clog up our court system.
In the eyes of the public it can even give sympathy to the perpetrators of terrible crimes.
For those of you who want numbers on these things, the Balanced Politics website has a few things to say:
Financial costs to taxpayers of capital punishment is several times that of keeping someone in prison for life. Most people don't realize that carrying out one death sentence costs 2-5 times more than keeping that same criminal in prison for the rest of his life. How can this be? It has to do with the endless appeals, additional required procedures, and legal wrangling that drag the process out. It's not unusual for a prisoner to be on death row for 15-20 years. Judges, attorneys, court reporters, clerks, and court facilities all require a substantial investment by the taxpayers. Do we really have the resources to waste?

It creates sympathy for the monstrous perpetrators of the crimes. Criminals usually are looked down upon by society. People are disgusted by the vile, unconscionable acts they commit and feel tremendous sympathy for the victims of murder, rape, etc. However, the death penalty has a way of shifting sympathy away from the victims and to the criminals themselves. An excellent example is the 2005 execution of former gang leader "Tookie" Williams. This is one of the original members of the notorious Crips gang, which has a long legacy of robbery, assault, and murder. This is a man who was convicted with overwhelming evidence of the murder of 4 people, some of whom he shot in the back and then laughed at the sounds they made as they died. This is a man who never even took responsibility for the crimes or apologized to the victims -- NOT ONCE! These victims had kids and spouses, but instead of sympathy for them, sympathy shifted to Tookie. Candlelight vigils were held for him. Websites like savetookie.org sprung up. Protests and a media circus ensued trying to prevent the execution, which eventually did take place -- 26 years after the crime itself! There are many cases like this, which makes a mockery of the evil crimes these degenerates commit.

There you go. Every reason I have to get rid of the Death Penalty.

And since he's for the death penalty, say everything to counter the above and you should be fine for your debate.

Also, it removes criminals that would repeat their actions from the general society for good. Your repeat rapist can't get out after 10 years of good behavior if he's dead. :3

See that's a common misconception. A gang member could get out after a few years because of good behavior but a rapist, unless it's a freak case, is almost always sentenced to prison with no chance of parole. That pretty much means that they won't be let out.

[demonbarber14]

Well, I'm against it, but you could say that it's good because people aren't spending tax money on people in jail.

[Mauled by angry kittens]

demonbarber14

Well, I'm against it, but you could say that it's good because people aren't spending tax money on people in jail.

Once again, are people not reading the numbers I gave on how much more it costs to go through the process of getting a person on death row? Even during that time, the criminal is spending years upon years in prison.

[Mauled by angry kittens]

By the way, I'm sitting here and laughing at the people who are saying that prisoners get free food, showers and a roof over their heads. You make it sound like homeless people would kill a dude just to get housing. It makes me wonder if any of you know what prison life is like. As an example, there was a kid in my college who had gone to prison for 6 months for a large breaking and entering case. When he came back, he had scars covering every part of his body from the cuts that fellow prisoners were giving him with any sharp object they could find.
Prison is not just a place where you live in a cell for a few years so people don't have to bother with you. It's a place of humiliation, violence, rape, and filth. Many consider life in prison to be a fate much worse than death.

[Prisonic x Fairytale]

Mauled by angry kittens

By the way, I'm sitting here and laughing at the people who are saying that prisoners get free food, showers and a roof over their heads. .

Any proof that they dont get free food, and showers or roofs over their head?

[Penguins Eat Socks]

My biggest broblem with the death penalty is that it's supporters are typically "pro-lifers". If that isn't hypocracy then I don't know what is.

[Mauled by angry kittens]

Prisonic x Fairytale

Mauled by angry kittens

By the way, I'm sitting here and laughing at the people who are saying that prisoners get free food, showers and a roof over their heads. .

Any proof that they dont get free food, and showers or roofs over their head?

I wasn't saying that they don't. I'm just saying that when they say free, they're ignoring everything that goes with "life" in prison. It's in the rest of the post.

[carlinie-the lezzy]

Killing someone for killing someone is still murder except it's legal, and it's not setting a good example.

[zim511]

Why not use the coliseum idea? Fights till one inmate gives up for normal prisoners and death matches for those on death row.

[Comrade Tool]

Ninth Pariah

Comrade Tool

Ninth Pariah

Comrade Tool

Ninth Pariah

Rape. Serial murder. Torture.

There are some things all people can agree on the terrible nature of. Well, except maybe those who commit such crimes.

Also, on the cost thing: Rope is cheap. A short drop with a sudden stop is neither cruel nor unusual.

If you're raped it doesn't mean you're killed, so I don't see how rape=death penalty. Serial killers are usually mentally unstable, and to kill a mentally unstable person when you are mentally stable makes you how much better than the other person? Same thing with torture. There was a quote I once read, it went something like this:
" I can understand a man killing someone in passion, to gather around and debate whether to take the man's life, and then actually doing it is worse. Not only is it murder, it's conspiracy to commit murder too with a clear mind."
Hangings are cruel and unusual, at least in the developed countries. Usually you do that when you lynch people like when people hang gays in the middle east or when black people were lynched for wearing their army uniforms. It was a way to show you weren't even human.

Isn't the first thing I said that there are crimes which result in a forfeiture of your humanity? They aren't human, they're just another dangerous animal to be euthanized. Hangings aren't cruel if they're done right; measure it out, based on weight and muscle mass, and displace the brain stem from the spinal cord. Painless, instant death. They might still have sight and hearing for a few seconds, but they'll feel nothing.

Well now you have to prove they're not human anymore, good luck with that endeavor.

That's an opinion and I know that. But most people, while they might not agree with my logic, will agree on how to deal with them. s**t, most people would want to do worse than kill them.

Ok and your point being? You still have not proven that they have given up their "humanity" or that they're not humans.

[ohai_alyssa]

My only objection towards it is if the killer is actually innocent.
Taking an innocent person's life just isn't fair, obviously.


But otherwise I see it eye-to an eye

[carlinie-the lezzy]

demonbarber14

Well, I'm against it, but you could say that it's good because people aren't spending tax money on people in jail.

Taxes are what is feeding them and bathing them and putting a roof over their heads.

Here's what i think they should do with prisons: i think they should have farms in prison, and the prisoners should grow their own crops and cook their own foods and dig wells to get their own water, I do not appreciate my taxes going tawards feeding criminals. All the do is sit there and do nothing while other people are in pooverty. They should work for what they get.