What is a more severe punishment: The death penalty, or life in prison?

Question

From what I have heard, prison is the closest thing to h**l on Earth.

Answer 1

Prison to some is not that much of a punishment, they get 3 meals a day, recreation, free medical care. Some inmates become institutionalized and accept prison life and adjust to it, it is not h**l to them it is their world. For smaller weaker inmates prison can be tough, but they have the opportunity for protective custody if they need it. The Death Penalty is a more severe punishment and more just.

Answer 2

I think the question is which is better or worse for society.

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.

129 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. DNA, available in less than 10% of all homicides, can’t guarantee we won’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 don’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/tab...  

The Innocence Project, www.innocenceproject.org

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

http://www.njadp.org/forms/signon-surviv... for statements of victims’ families

Answer 3

prison

Answer 4

death, i would rather have a certain people dead, plain and simple, letting them live is a severe punishment for the victims family.

kill the b******s, free up space, free up tax dolars!!

Answer 5

Why do people on death row keep trying to get pardoned or live longer? I think death is the ultimate punishment, people adapt.

Answer 6

The worst punishment is life in prison.

Answer 7

You make an excellent point.  I supported capital punishment for a long time, but the more I learned about it, the more I came to oppose it. In the end, several factors changed my mind:

1. By far the most compelling is this: Sometimes the legal system gets it wrong. In the last 30 years in the U.S., over 100 people have been released from death row because they were exonerated by DNA evidence. These are ALL people who were found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."  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 to oppose it. If you need more, read on:

2. Because of higher pre-trial expenses, longer trials, jury sequestration, extra expenses associated with 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 – the most active execution state at the time – to carry out his final murder spree). Personally, I think it has to do with the hypocrisy of taking a stand against murder…by killing people. The government fosters a culture of violence by saying, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

4. As you mention, there’s also an argument to be made that death is too good for the worst criminals. Let them wake up and go to bed every day of their lives in a prison cell, and think about the freedom they DON’T have, until they rot of old age. When Ted Bundy was finally arrested in 1978, he told the police officer, “I wish you had killed me.” 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."

Answer 8

Life in prison is worse, you'll get raped like 1000 times before you die

Answer 9

Pending on the death sentance... if it's a quick one, then the life in prison is more severe...

Answer 10

Prison, for many reasons:

1) If you kill a killer, you're as bad as they are. [Don't agree? Who cares?!]

2) If they spend their life in a h**l hole don't you think it's going to have more of an affect on them?

3) If you kill them - they're safely out of it and don't have to deal with what they've done anymore.

Answer 11

death is pretty final

Answer 12

It depends.

In Canada, our worst s*x ffenders will never be released and child killers, in particular, cannot be put into the general prison population - they'd be killed.

So they're kept in solitary confinement.

Imagine - 23 hours a day in a 6 x 10 foot cage.  Every day, for the rest of your life.

Paul Bernardo was sent to prison in his 30's.  He's looking at 50, 60 years in there.

Answer 13

I think the death penalty is an easy way out and a waste; they should be donated to science if they are convicted beyond reasonable doubt. There are a lot of innocent incarcerated persons.

Answer 14

well i would definetly say life in prison...take "blood in blood out" well yea...u get raped nd beat up in prison...so id say its prisson the worst one

Answer 15

Prison, imagine waking up every single day, knowing, you will never be free for the rest of your days.  

Answer 16

for most people life in prison would be much worse.

Answer 17

I am with Capt.Spa.  

Answer 18

Every man dies; not every man really lives.

Answer 19

it is an absurd sentence. first off, it is too expensive and there are so many other creative ways to deal with incorrigables.

Answer 20

if you think free everything is h**l then prison don't believe what you see on tv they don't run around raping and pillaging