Do you think they should bring back death penalty?

Veston Pants

Ah ... my favourite question ... and now of the simple answer.

While the UK is a member of the EU and has its current human rights legislation it is forbidden for the reinstatement of the death penalty.

xxFJ

Robin Darkmere

Not so long ago a woman was freed from prison because it came to light that the evidence against her was seriously flawed. The woman had been put away for "murdering" her baby. Later evidence proved the baby died from Cot Death.
If the Death Sentence was carried out on this woman it would have been a travesty of justice.
Then we look at the case of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, there is a real case for execution. He was found guilty by MO and by DNA evidence.
The Death Sentence was in situ back in the 1800's and it proved to be NO deterrent then as it is NO deterrent now. People who are desperate enough WILL break the law and take the consequences as an occupational hazzard. Those that are deemed to be mentally unstable do NOT stand trial by the law, they are removed from society by the Section Act.
Add to this that DNA evidence is NOT 100% accurate, the death sentence is unlikely to see a comeback.
This doesn't mean to say that the punishment cannot fit the crime. I firmly believe that prison life should be hell on earth and not the comfy hotels they are at the moment where the walls are there to keep people out and not in.

maggi

not necessarily they should bring new methods of torturing people who are not worthy to live

M C

well you have to ask yourself, what is the purpose of the death penalty? Is it for revenge? Is it a scare tactic to make people behave? I hope not. The death penalty was developed in a time when executing a murderer or criminal was the only way to prevent him from breaking out of prison and perpetrating more crimes. I do not feel that our current state warrants the death penalty simply because it is not the necessary way to control dangerous criminals. Also, I would be very hesitant to execute people given the numerous cases of acquittals being granted based on DNA evidence years later.

Morecambe, not Dennis Wise

No.

cinder a

We still have it in most states, but it takes too long to put it to use.

If we had the death penalty and used it quickly like they did with Sadam (it was 30 days) it might be a deterrent then.

Essex Ron

Of course they SHOULD. And of course they CAN'T, because it is against European Law.

However, for all of those bleeding hearts who say that it isn't/wasnt a deterrent, look at the figures.

Average number of murders 1960-1964 (before abolition): 290
Average number 2003-2006: 900

The one single statistic that interests me is this: not ONE PERSON who has been executed has EVER committed another crime.

100% success.

PangWang

yeah - it may not reduce crime, but for every hanging we would know we werent going to waste thousands of pounds keeping another murderer/pervert/lowlife in a luxurious prison cell with tv et al, while hardworking honest people are on the breadline. Satisfaction!

robert c

Yes!

ERIC S

Despite EU laws, the question was, should they bring back the death penalty and I think yes. Why should we have to pay to keep murders in prison, they don't work and many eventually die there having a very easy life, with only their freedom taken away Their crime is so serious not only against the victim but those he leaves behind that sometimes suffer more than the criminal. The only thing that would worry me on this subject would be that the law does make mistakes and by then its a bit late to dig them up. It would have to be a 100% conviction.

Christine P

Depends what state you are in. Right now the death penalty is completely legal and has been upheld time and time again by the Supreme Court. Various states, however, have chosen to have a moratorium on the death penalty, but there are still plenty that are moving forward.

I'm no liberal, but I do know that in certain states, DNA evidence has exonerated dozens of people from death row. So, perhaps those convicted where DNA evidence wasn't used, not applying the death penalty is appropriate as there is still room for error. However, with the more time that passes and the forensic evidence linking people to crimes currently, I'm not sure why some states still feel the need to withhold the death penalty. Juries can be dumb and manipulated; scientific evidence cannot.

I don't know that the death penalty actually deters people from committing murder; I think when someone is going to commit a premeditated murder they aren't thinking about getting caught and what type of punishment they would face. They are only thinking of what they can get away with. Gang bangers who shoot up a place aren't less likely to shoot it up if they know the death penalty is on the table. If anything, the death penalty being on the table is simply another tool for the state to use to convince people to turn on other criminals in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table. So, I suppose it could be viewed as being a deterrent in that it deters people from protecting other criminals as it scares them into talking with the state and turning state's evidence.

Irrational Man

why limit it to murder? i'd say jaywalking, littering and public intoxication should be included as well.

sassy

Yes for Murderers, rapists and child molesters in this day and age the police dont often get it wrong and there is DNA testing now which makes it more easy to catch people.
I think rapists should be Branded across their foreheads.
And there is no cure for peodophiles so put them out of our misery.
Prisons are over run and it costs us so much to keep them all lets get rid of them all!

Paola

I'm staunchly against it. Because it costs more money than keeping a criminal in jail for life. It's fiscally wasteful. And it tends to target minority criminals.

Yahoo

YES!

Susan S

No. In the USA it hasn't been effective in preventing or reducing crime and it risks executions of innocent people. This has nothing to do with sympathizing with criminals. Here is some of what we know about the system and a viable alternative, with sources listed below.

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. US homicide rates are higher than in the UK.

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?

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 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

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