Which is more torturesome: 25 years in prison, or a death penalty?

El Guapo

I supported capital punishment for a long time, but I have changed my stance over the years, for several reasons:

1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years, over 100 people have been released from death row after years of imprisonment because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. Unfortunately, DNA evidence is not available in most cases. No matter how rare it is, the government should not risk executing one single innocent person.

Really, that should be reason enough for most people. If you need more, read on:

2. Because of the extra expense of prosecuting a DP case and the appeals process (which is necessary - see reason #1), it costs taxpayers MUCH more to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life.

3. The deterrent effect is questionable at best. Violent crime rates are actually higher in death penalty jurisdictions. This may seem counterintuitive, and there are many theories about why this is (Ted Bundy saw it as a challenge, so he chose Florida â€“ the most active execution state at the time â€“ to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murderâ€¦by killing people. The government becomes the bad parent who says, â€˜do as I say, not as I do.â€™

4. To your point, thereâ€™s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst of our criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DONâ€™T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, â€œI wish you had killed me.â€ Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (the architect of the 9/11 attacks) would love nothing better than to be put to death. In his words, "I have been looking to be a martyr [for a] long time."

5. Most governments are supposed to be secular, but for those who invoke Christian law in this debate, you can find arguments both for AND against the death penalty in the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:38-39 insists that violence shall not beget violence. James 4:12 says that God is the only one who can take a life in the name of justice. Leviticus 19:18 warns against vengeance (which, really, is what the death penalty amounts to). In John 8:7, Jesus himself says, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Arkansas hunter

well, if you get the DP, most of them sit on death row at least 25 years anyway.

Travis D

You gotta remember your not executed right away, years will be spent just knowing your going to die all alone in a cement room. Lifers can start a new life, an institutionalized life. So I'm going with Death.

Cindy

I would say that being in prison for 25 years would be more torture than the death penalty. Unless you have ever been in a prison you have no idea of all that you have go through on a daily basis. Weather you are being housed there or working there it isn't a nice place to be. There is never any peace, nor is there any privacy for any one there.

I would think it would be easier to be put to death than to have to serve out a 25 year sentence. Plus you have to understand that it's easy to pick up another case while your in prison. So that it isn't impossible for a person to end up doing even more time, if they get wrapped up into some thing else while they are serving the 25 years. Inmates know that this can happen, and that it does happen.

I hope that this answers your question. God bless!

Susan S

Who cares about what the criminal wants or would prefer. The bottom line is what is best for people who are law abiding. When you look at the death penalty system in action, you realize that the only purpose it serves is retribution or revenge and that there is a serious and continuing risk of executing innocent people. Sources below.

129 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. DNA, available in less than 10% of all homicides, canâ€™t guarantee we wonâ€™t execute innocent people.

The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. No reliable study shows the death penalty deters others. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in those that donâ€™t.

Life without parole, on the books in 48 states, also prevents reoffending. It means what it says, and spending 23 of 24 hours a day locked in a tiny cell is not a picnic. Life without parole costs less than the death penalty.

The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison, mostly because of the upfront costs of legal process which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people. (upfront=before and during the initial trial)

The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed?

The death penalty doesn't necessarily help families of murder victims. Murder victim family members have testified that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

Problems with speeding up the process. Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. Speed up the process and we will execute innocent people.

Sources:

Death Penalty Information Center, www.deathpenaltyinfo.org, for stats on executions, reports on costs, deterrence studies, links to FBI crime stats and links to testimony (at state legislatures) of victims' family members.

FBI http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_04.html

The Innocence Project, www.innocenceproject.org

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/COcosttestimony.pdf page 3 and 4 on why the death penalty is so expensive

http://www.njadp.org/forms/signon-survivor.html for statements of victimsâ€™ families

RAWR

25 years is more torturesome, but the death penalty no doubt more be more horrible.

john w

You miss the point! If you were sentenced to 25 years you could do as little as 5. If you were sentenced to death you could serve 25 years waiting to be executed! You have to FOLLOW THE MONEY! As a Statistic Generating Criminal you are a valuable asset of the CRIMINAL Justice System justifying their existence. Whether you are behind bars or on the street creating more victims, neither is 'torture-some' for System. The CRIMINAL Justice System doesn't care what you want and could give a damn less what you think is 'torture-some' so long as you do your job of generating statistics!

Andy A

Death penalty.

GWB

Prison.
Death is easy.

BSandhu

25 years in prison

Diamond.....1 M/C ~*~*

well i guess the death penalty would be worse because alot of inmates are on death row for many many years anyway so i think i would rather do 25 and be free then do 25 and be killed.

KYGrace

I think that the 25 years is worse because your punishment just keeps on going and no doubt you will be mistreated something fierce!
Death is a terrible thing, but at least it's swift and final!

25 years in prison...The death penalty is relatively quick and painless. It's why people choose to commit suicide versus living life.

chilebreath

If you want to do away with the death penalty then you have to make life in prison a living hell. Inhumane as it may sound, anyone doing life for a capitol offense should never be able to mix with anyone else, they should never be allowed to go outside and see the light of day, they should never be able to see the blue sky or grass or trees, they should never be able to listen to the radio or watch TV, and there should never be family visits. How about it you anti-death nut cases? Are you willing to buy off on my suggestion of making life in prison really life in prison? If not then maybe you'd like to be the one who explains to the family of a murdered victim why the killer of their loved one is alive and having a grand old time in prison?

C-G-M-I

Deff a personal question that people with have their biasis on!

I think a death penalty would be more torturesome. Reason be, the inmate must sit in prison and wonder when and how he will die!

KristinaP

n my opinion out of those two options I would have to say the 25 years in prison is more torturous. At least the Death Penalty either by injection or electrocution is swift and fast.
In a 25 years in prison situation you not only have to sit there day in and day out and be reminded of the wrongs you have done.

I also think it is torturous for the tax payers as we are paying for these inmates to be housed, fed, bathed, clothed, cleaned, their health care and so on. I do understand that there are different degrees of criminals but assuming by the question you are talking about an extreme severity such as murderers and extreme multiple offenses. And hence my opinion on them. In the case that it was something minor such as theft lets say....then it would most certainly be more torturous to have a death penalty sentence.

Have a great day =)

Pretty. Odd.

the death penalty, imagine waiting everyday knowing your going to die soon, horrible

at least in prison you can count the days to your release instead

xx

Vince R

I think death penalty is worst, after 25 years you get another chance for god knows what.... there is no life after death ....

sad but true.

El Scott

The Liberals have gummed up the death penalty so bad that a prisoner who is sentenced to death spends nearly that long in prison waiting to be executed. The death penalty needs to be stream lined to prevent this-then it would be a true punishment.

If the life in prison was truly a worse penalty then death then you would see all the life convicts trying to get their sentences commuted to death sentences. Not the other way around. Give me a break.

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