Death penalty issue . . . .?

Question

State where you're from, age, educational level completed, and what are your thoughts about this issue. Why are you for or against it? If you can, please share your personal experiences on your stance on this.

I'm just a prior community college student, who was majoring in Corrections/social services, Administration of Justice and Liberal Arts. One of my instructors is a children's social worker and we debate this issue, right along with other social ills that's affecting us in America.

Answer 1

Ohio

14

freshman in high school

The death penalty isnt a big deal to me, but I think a life in prison would be worse punishment

Answer 2

I am 67 years old, I have a degree in automotive engineering from the university of California

I am for the death penalty, I don't think the deterrent part of the issue is valid, or Germaine, it is and should be a punishment for taking another persons life, as prison sentences should be considered to be punishment for committing other crimes, rehabbing criminals is a fools folly, having worked as an instructor in California prisons, is what leads me to that conclusion

Answer 3

I'm 14, and from FL. I am currently in my first year of high school, and plan to get a masters in education and one in school administration.

I think  someone who takes a life, shows excessive brutality, or molests a child should have life in prison with no parole. With child molesters and kidnappers, after one time that should be it. For excessively brutal people, and murderers, after one strike, it should be death penalty. And not 60 years later, either, but within 2 years of conviction. That way, there are no repeat offenders. My aunt and little cousin were murdered. My aunt was 31, my cousin was 6. The guy who killed them had been paroled for an especially brutal rape. Don't you just love our justice system? I think that this would also discourage future offenders, and stop repeat offenses. I was 6 as well, by the way, when my cousin Eric was killed, and he had been my best friend. By the way, his murderer is still on death row. He may die of old age before his execution.

And, just for the record, I think that, if anything, our methods of executions are too humane ("This will only hurt for a bit, Mr. Couey") We need to at least go back to using Sparky (AA, the electric chair) so these bestial people can suffer a bit of the terror their victims suffered in their last moments. By the way, I happen to be Catholic.

Answer 4

Well, I'd hate to see the world that I'd be in charge of <grin>-- it's much easier to just have an opinion. Given that I think my opinion might change if I were actually in charge -- here goes:

35, white, middle class, college educated.

I think the considered and calm taking of a life by the state is an atrocity.  I've never seen evidence that it acts as a deterrent and I don't think it has any value. I think capital punishment exposes us all as base creatures.

That said, I am all for victim rights. In an ideal world, I say the victim should be able to choose if the perp dies and how. I actually think the victim is the only one with the right to make that decision.  Of course, on a higher level, I don't think anyone has a "right" to take anyone else's life but then there are some crimes... let's just say that if anyone hurt my children I think lethal injection would be too humane and life in prison ridiculous, being neither sufficient punishment nor rehabilitive.

Of course, if I was actually in charge, I'd have to take into account stuff like wrongful convictions... sigh... so I have no good conclusion, except that it's not a simple question.

Answer 5

Im 32 mexican american woman born in teh UDSA. i have a b.a . Im for the death penalty. we have to show are criminals hat comiiting a crime doesnt mean they get to live tax free the rest of thier lives taken care of in our system . justice had to be served. by the way im bnot religious but im not satanic or immoral. i just think its a drain on the system that can hel those who are worthy.

Answer 6

I am from southeastern Michigan. I am 18 years old. i am a senior in highschool. I am for the death penalty, and here's why:

-it serves due justice (the punishment fits the crime), and serving due justice is the NO.1 job of a court of law (preventing crime is NOT their job)

-it shows that we are tough on crime

-it gets bang for the taxpayers buck

-criminals given the DP have a 0% recidivism rate

-It holds people responcible for the horrible content of their character. This fulfills what MLKJ always wanted: judge not by the color of your skin, but by the content of your character. The characterof these criminals warrants death

-It holds the criminal responcible for his actions

-appeals and **** aside, it's cheaper then prison

-it decreases the prison population, which saves even more taxpayers money

-Because the death penalty is the punishment given by a neutrel judge, there is no vengance in it. Therefore, there is no moral objection to be had with the death penalty.

-The death penalty defends human rights by establishing a mentality that "we will not tolerate any violation of any innocent person's human right's

Answer 7

Opposed.

Answer 8

19 M Massachusetts some college. I'm for the death penalty if the victim's family wishes to do so. The other day on the news they were discussing the trial of a young man who burnt to death his 17 year old pregnant girlfriend. This man does not deserve to live.

Answer 9

62 living in Tennessee.  BA & MS in Economics, M.Div.  

I have no problem with the death penalty as long as it is evenly  and fairly applied.  The problem is in the application.  O.J. got off scot  free with overwhelming evidence against him, and numerous poor folks get the needle (eventually) because they couldn't afford Johnny Cockrin and his entourage.

Answer 10

I'm from Ohio and SoCal, 52 and completely uneducated.

I believe that in a perfect social contract between the state and the people, the rules would be the same for both. If I can't kill someone in anything other than self defense, then the state shouldn't be allowed to either. It's a double standard.

Codified law has grown a lot since Hammurabi but we just can't seem to get past this one. The state can't steal, the state can't lie, the state can't breach contracts, etc., and yet the state can kill, and not just in self defense. Why?

I can't understand why the majority of Christians support the death penalty. I read from my Bible. I like the Gospels best, and think they are the most directive. I cannot find any justification for killing in the words of Jesus or his apostles.

Even the Koran (5:28 if I recall) leaves vengeance in the hands of God with regards to murder.

Any attempt at a religious, rational or sensible argument for the death penalty falls short in my opinion.

Answer 11

I am 25, from Los Angeles, California, 3rd yr in college.

I don't agree with the death penalty, I'm not hard core religious but as human beings, I don't think anybody has a right to kill anyone and also, the system is not flawless, which leaves room for mistake...to kill an innocent person, it has happened before and will happen again. I also think people should stay in jail and think about their crime...dying is just an easy way out for them, I also understand that it's more expensive to keep a person in jail but I also believe that they receive way to many benefits, and if we cut down on benefits...well we can keep more people in jail. I'm also majoring in criminal justice :D  I love it I love it I love it.

Answer 12

47, southern California, AA degree. While I don't have a philosophical problem with the death penalty, my feeling is that it doesn't work as a deterrent to crime. I guess you could say I am against it because it doesn't work, not because I don't think someone who murders should be killed. If it did work as a deterrent, I would be the first to flip the switch, pull the trigger, or inject the drugs. Unfortunately, it comes down to this: When a person commits a crime, in this case murder, there is a punishment that the state is entitled to carry out on behalf of the citizens and the families of the deceased. But since the punishment only punishes the perpetrator and does little or nothing to prevent future murders, and even less to restore what was taken from the victims, it's kind of a pointless ordeal to put everyone through.

Answer 13

I'm 19

Ontario, Canada

2nd year university student working on BA Sociology and BA Law.

My personal belief is that all human life is equal.

Two wrongs don't make a right, killing someone for killing another doesn't make anything better. They need to be punished, and also, rehabilitated. Many offenders would benefit more from jail time + rehabilitation/councilling than just jail time alone.

The death penalty for me though, is just hypocritical. Murders illegal unless the law does it. Makes no sense to me.

Answer 14

i'm against it because it is just cruel and inhumane to kill anyone who committed even the most of heinous crimes. that's just how i am. Life is precious and instead of killing the person or persons who did something wrong in their life, give them a chance to turn their life around for the better.

Giving them the death sentence is just cruel.

i'm from the u.s.a. 18 and a freshman in college (i graduated early from high school).

Answer 15

My age is 62 and do agree on the death penalty!  I am a high school grad.  Before this past year I was always unsure how I felt about this, but I was in voled with a person that killed a girl at the young age of 23.  Now every time I see that something happened to someone like this I feel for this girl that never got to live her life and for her family!!!  I am all for family and my heart goes out to this girls family even today!!!  And I never even knew her, but that does not matter!  She never got the chance to with her life what she wanted to do!  She was in college and learning things that could have helped other people someday and this man took her life!!!  He only did 6 years and 9 months!!!  Just talking about this makes me sick!!!  These people that do the killing and even do time get out and can't find good jobs because of what they did, so they end up living off the states!  And this means our money!!!  Even in a jail they are living off our money!!!  So matter which way you look at it, we loose.  Good honest people lose in this, and this family lost their daughter!!!

Answer 16

Texas, 26, non-traditional student in college, major in Psych, minors in sociology and criminology.

I have both philosophical and practical issues with the death penalty, and I believe it is uncivilized, barbaric and should be abolished altogether. Philisophically, It is impossible to prove anything 100%, including guilt, yet the punishment is 100% irrevocable. (that's the short answer)

Practically, there is no evidence whatsoever that the death penalty works as a general deterrent to crime, in fact the statistics indicate that it does not deter crime at all. Just lock them up and throw away the key.

Also, I can't remember the actual argument, I wish I could, but my social deviance professor showed us that the economic argument for execution is invalid also.