Is capital punishment barbaric and immoral?

Loli M

NO, but here is a better question....were the crimes committed that got the inmate the death penalty barbaric and immoral?

david n

yes to both parts of your question.

J G

Only if you can pay for them to rot in jails, yes.

Are the criminals' crimes barbaric and immoral? Let the punishment fit the crime.

Mr. Morden

I think so. You forgot that it's irreversible if a mistake is made, which does happen.

ByTheWay

is capital punishment barbaric? No, it is totally human! No other species in this world "kills" another being for a reason other than immediate self defence / accidental / for food.

is capital punishment immoral? Yes. what is moral is always above the values and actions of a person or entity that wants its own good. When you want to kill, you want something irreverable and damaging happen to some one else for your own good

ElOsoBravo

You put your question in loaded terms, but, yes, it is wrong for society to take a human life.
For the naysayers, please note that studies have shown statistically that capital punishment has not proved to deter other capital crimes.
It is more costly to go through the capital punishment process than a life sentence. As punishment goes, is not life imprisonment w/o parole a greater punishment that the sweet needle of lethal injection?
Finally, is it not barbaric and immoral for a civil society to stoop down and play out the part of a twisted, perhaps, diseased criminal mind of the individual so executed? And, if it later is proved that a mistake has been made, how you you say: Oh, sorry about that.

juan70ahr

We have a right to life. This is the most fundamental right set out in the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence. No one should be able to take that right away ESPECIALLY the state.
Why???
The basic premise of capital punishment is an eye-for-an-eye (retribution). If an individual wrongfully kills a person, that individual is put to death. But what if the state (through it's public servants) wrongfully kills an individual? Can the state (and those servants) be put to death? NO!
What we have is an "legal" imbalance of power that overwhelmingly sides with the state. The power should always be balanced or favor the individual over the state.
Any other argument for capital punishment such as prevention/deterrent is unfounded. The best deterrent is increasing the chances of catching the criminal. For example, ask a store owner what works best to deter shop lifting:
a) Putting up a sign that says shoplifters will have to pay a $5000 fine and be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
OR
b) Putting up security cameras everywhere, having watchful workers, and having sensors at the entrance/exit of the store.

Lastly, I would also argue that killing a convicted murderer is a release from punishment, not a punishment in itself.
So, yes I see it as immoral.

railroad dave

bush says stem cells are life yet signed over 250 death warrants. perhaps if he thought of death penalty as retro-active abortion he would stop.

Chrissy

Yes, because the system is not perfect. People who were on death row were later found innocent by DNA evidence. Even if you kill one innocent person for the sake of keeping the death penalty, that is one too many.

In addition, you can be sentenced to the death penalty for felony murder, which is if a murder happens while you were involved in the crime- i.e. your friend went in and robbed a convenience store and shot the clerk, came out, and you drove the getaway car- with no intention of anyone getting shot. However, you cannot be sentenced to the death penalty if you sodomize and rape a four year old girl and beat and torture her for hours within inches of her life and then leave her in the woods to die- but it just so happens a jogger finds her and she lives, but with severe brain damage and disfigurement. There is such a disparity in these two examples- who deserves the death penalty and who doesnt? But the first one will be sentenced to death, and has in similar situations.

I dont disagree with the death penalty, but in it's present form, it is a system that is full of holes.

Jak Darktent

No worse that what it should punish e. g. Murder, rape, and most of the other disgusting crimes against humanity.

Michael K

Lets ask the victims. Oh yeah, a lot of them are dead.

tearsofthemoon00

Do you think it is a good thing to spend money on people who contribute nothing but crime and pain,or spend those dollars on a poor kid who has the chance to make something of their lives.

Huey Freeman

Disclaimer: I do realize that criminals should be punished. Being against the death penalty makes me no less logical than the next person; I am not pro-criminal, against justice, or anything of that matter. It's unfortunate that I find it upon myself to do this, but I have gotten enough attacks for being anti-death that it isn't even funny.

Concerning the question, I believe it to be immoral, yes. As for barbaric, as "un-cruel" as they attempt to make it, it still serves the same purpose as the worst of them. So, as far as I am concerned, I do find it barbaric and immoral. Let God judge the convicted, not the State. Punish them as they deserve, but in the end, capital punishment is simply legal murder.

toff

Yes. An even better question would be is it effective in curtailing crime. The answer is no.

As far as costs go, if you look at any states Dept of Correction records you will see that it costs more to ouse and execute these inmates than to house them in a maximum security or general poplulation unit.

mikey

Yes - but it is often the only adequate punishment for the crime commited. And only governments are authorized to use it, not individuals.

ib_enigma

No.

the bad seed

nope
people that say that are weirdos tho

Paul W

No. Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 21:12 NIV Bible)

Richard

No, I believe that some crimes are so bad that the only way society can protect itself from that criminal is to put that person to death. It might not stop the next person, but it will stop the criminal from ever doing it again.

And before some people get bent out of shape, if life without parole meant just that, you might be able to talk me in to it, but there are people who got life without parole who are walking out and about now. An yes i can prove it, and I'm not talking about people who won an appeal, or escaped.

Escape is the other problem with life without parole.

Try to leave things a little better then you found them.

Sentinel

NO! It is the only PROVEN way to prevent MURDERERS from MURDERING AGAIN!

timflips

no no and no we should kill all murders and people who commit adultery but instead we put them in prison and give them free food and we have to pay for it

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: