For or Against the DEATH PENALTY ? Is it "cruel and unusual punishment" according to our Constitution ?

innocence faded

For the worst crimes, I am for the death penalty. Main reason? I feel that someone that willingly takes the life of another person should not receive a lifetime of getting all of their needs, and even a lot of luxuries, for free. Prisoners get free clothing, free food, free cable TV, free weight rooms, free college courses (through correspondence)free health care, the list goes on and on. I have seen sickening websites like "Pampered Prisoners" dedicated to "making their time easier" WTF????? What about the VICTIMS of the crimes? They get nothing for free, assuming they survive the attack of the criminal, they have to pay their own health care. If they cannot afford the health care, they are left to suffer by the doctors, yet the prisoners that inflict the injuries get health care for free!!!

What do you do with a vicious animal, who only attacks and harms, and cannot be trained to behave the right way? You put him down. Same should go for a vicious human, put him down.

For me, the only alternative to the death penalty (and I am talking severe crimes like murder, or those that have proven themselves to be just vicious and untrainable) would be to use the predators for testing instead of the innocent animals, who have done nothing to deserve the torture inflicted on them.

David

I dont think anybody has the right to take someone's life away. God should be the one and He is the one. Every nation will face God's trial and they are going to be judged.

bisquedog

Agains it THAt makes us no hetter than the convicted person. Why stoop to his level? also what if someone is wrongly convicted YES IT DOES HAPPEN!!! WHAT do we do? oops oh so sorry we offed the wrong person too bad so sad maybe we'll get the next one right.

billydeer_2000

If found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt I am for captial punishment. It should be performed within a year of the inditement and it should be done in public.
There is no reason to stretch out a sentence that is innevitable and waste time, money and the victims families emotions.
In this day and age someone commits a heighnous crime and is fed, clothed, entertained in some instances. Prison is supposed to be punishment. Not a day camp for criminals. No cable, no conjugal visits(sp), top end meals, etc... They should be given what they deserve and that is what they need to survive. Something that the victims families dont have is their family member. Why should the murderers family have access to theirs?

the_batmobiles_a_chevy

Only stoning. And only if I get to throw some, too.

<3pirates<3

For, no it is on cruel according to our constiution

mtpizzo

It is certainly cruel. Think about this:

If the penalty for theft was that you would have your hand cut off, the supreme court would definitly consider that a cruel and unusual punishment hence unconstitional.

Would you agree? I hope so.

Now, if you had the choice of receiving the death penalty or having your hand cut off, what would you choose?

I think the reasonable person would choose to lose the hand. Personally, I would be willing to lose much more than a hand to keep my life.

So, if having your hand cut off is cruel, then shouldn't something that is definitly worse also be considered cruel?

I think the United States Supreme Court should only allow the death penalty to be administered in the most extreme cases. I would have no problem if we executed Osama Bin Laden (nor did I have a problem with Timothy McVeigh), but the death penalty should not be given to people who simply murder a few individuals.

answerman

Gee I don't know............why don't you ask the families of the victims.

Life is about perspective. Try a different one.

Sully

For it.
but only for very serious crimes.
Murder
I wish Child molesters multi offenses
I wish rapist multi offenses

evolver

Well my constitution does not use this formulation (from Canada.) But I do think the case can be made that it is a cruel and unusual process.

Take the rituals involved:

- When a death warrant is signed, the warden comes and reads it scroll-like before the prisoner.
- The prisoner is removed from their normal cell, and put in a cell adjacent to where they will be killed. They remain there until the date comes.
- In many states, the prisoner is given a form to fill out indicating what kind of death they would prefer. They are also often forced to make their own funeral arrangements, and make disposition of their estate. They are constantly forced to remember their impending death.
- On the day before their death they are given a "last meal." While ostensibly a form of generosity, it is again a reminder of impending death. Some miserly states (like Florida) put a twenty dollar limit on it (even though the states have often spent millions pursuing each single execution.)
- Detailed procedures for the execution kick in - hard timelines regarding moving prisoners to holding areas, having them take showers, getting their heads shaved and rears diapered (in the case of the electric chair.)
- In the execution chamber, the warrant is often read again, with a statement by the warden emphasizing the impending execution - stuff like "Do you have a final statement," etc. The prisoner is kept constantly reminded of their impending death.

The famous writer and existentialist Albert Camus wrote, "the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who from that moment onward had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private life."

sentinel

For it. I also believe it should be done in public. If people can't see the consequences happen right in front of them, it doesn't do much good.

ssavage2004

I am for it in theory. There are some people whose conduct is so depraved that no amount of rehabilitation could possible make them productive, contributing citizens of society and they will, therefore, always be a liability. On the other hand, I am painfully aware that our system is flawed--horribly flawed--and that occasionally, innocent people die because we need closure. Some others who were incapable (legally and practically) at the time of their crimes of making appropriate decisions (due to age, legitimate mental defect, self-defense, or involuntary intoxication) die because we need closure. And a disproportionate percentage of minorities (principally, blacks and Latinos) die because they often cannot mount as vigorous a defense as some others who may have access to more money and better lawyers. All in the name of closure. Until we can eradicate these categories of wrongful execution, I don't think we should execute anyone.

diarmait

The death penalty should be used where it is necessary to protect the common good.

fallout1

i am so against it. i do not care if it is "cruel and unusual punishment. i feel sorry for the people who have to execute them, because at the end they will have to answer to god! i just hope every night they ask for forgiveness cuz if they do not they will (sorry to say this but...)...go th the under world. i mean look at the former pope even though the man who shot him was going to be killed the pope forgave him. this is a good example.so there for i am against it.

Wise Fool

I'm against it purely on economic grounds. With all the legal expenses the state incurs during the appeals process, it costs 4 times as much to kill a man than to keep him in jail for 65 years.

Why waste money to satisfy the public's bloodlust and revenge? Lock 'em up and throw away the key accomplishes the goal of separating the criminal from society.

Curious

The "Worldly" me, wants to agree with Sentinel that the death penalty should be administered and done out in theh wide open to deter criminal acts and behaviors, BUT the "Spiritual" me, truly believes that vengeance is for God and not for man. Therefore my final answer is: I am against the death penalty for the sole reason that God says that revenge is His.

"Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" Romans 12:19

EmilyRose

I am against the death penalty because it assumes our legal system is infalible. Sorry I don't remember the exact statistics, but a significant number of death row inmates have been exhonorated by DNA evidence or other means, and multiple people sentanced to death have been exhonorated post-mortem. While the death of a convicted murderer, rapist, or perpetrator of any violent crime may be satisfying for the victim and his/her family, even one worngful death is too many. Our courts are not infalible (that's why we have an appeal process, but appeals are no gaurantee of accuracy), so whether or not the death penalty could be considered 'cruel and unusual punishment,' it should not be allowed.

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