hevusa

Only under YOUR set of morals and values. That kind of statement is too general and should come with a few *

*Not if you are the President sending troops to kill people
*Not if you are a soldier in a declared war
*Not if you are the governer executing a prisoner


The point is that no one moral is so set in stone that you can declare that "those who take life from another do not deserve their own life." They do derserve punishment but more killing only lowers us all to their level and does nothing for the security of our nation.

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"There is no such thing as laziness. Laziness is only lack of incentive." Norman Reider, MD

Morality is not contingent on religion to exist. Therefore religion only detracts from the purity of morality.

forester814

Should I assume that you also meant to add the word "innocent" to your final line? "Those who take life from an innocent do not deserve their own life."

Katczinsky

What about the wrongful conviction and execution of an innocent person? In such a case, is the judge, jury, and prosecutor deserving of death too?

To me it seems that revenge only brings more bloodshed. Plus, if someone were so heinous as to commit, lets say, mass murder: then I doubt they value life in the first place, so maybe killing them would be doing them a favor? To me it seems that life in prison and isolation is more a punishment than the death penalty, anyway. Especially for someone who doesn't value life.

“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
-Abraham Lincoln

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Political Compass:

Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72

pensacola_niceman

I propose we abolish the prison system, and in its place hold gladitorial games. We've been pampering our prisoners for too long, spending upwards of $30,000 a year per inmate on these assholes! Cable TV and Internet access? What the fuck!? By holding gladitorial games, we'll not only save on sustaining these criminal assholes, we could actually MAKE money by selling tickets! A spear through the chest is also a great anti-crime ad; Scruff McGruff just isn't cutting it anymore. Maybe the new Scruff McGruff would be a lion, because when he takes a bite out of crime now it'll scream and bleed.

knot_e_lady

My only reservation about that in regards to mass/serial killers is the possibility of them getting out.

Case in point, Kenneth McDuff or Wesley Allen Dodd.

Katczinsky

I know you're very most probably just kidding, but that would constitute 'cruel and unusual punishment' no doubt!

But the prison-industrial complex is a real problem in this country. Keeping prisons packed is unfortunately seen too much as a profitable business.

To help combat this problem, we need to focus more on rehabilitation.

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Political Compass:

Economic Left/Right: -9.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.72

knot_e_lady

Or, better yet, focus on the reasons most people go into crime in the first place.

Isn't it better to cure the disease then to treat the symptoms?

pensacola_niceman

I don't think most hardcore violent criminals would benefit from rehabilation.

garysher

I oppose capital punishment on moral grounds.

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forester814

Exactly.

-Sir William Blackstone

At least, if you later realize that a jailed person is innocent, you can release him/her. Pretty tough to do that if he/she has been executed.

I agree.

People will usually bring up the cost of life imprisonment here as a counter argument. The fact is, it actually costs more to execute someone, when you take into account all the legal work, appeals, court time, etc.

But even if it were cheaper, is that a justification?
We are killing this guy to save money?
Brings us right back to the "How much is human life worth?" discussion.

The other point, of course, is that prison is NOT for punishment.
It's for rehabilitation.
Pretty tough to try to rehabilitate a guy after a visit to the electric chair.