Death Penalty? What's your opinion?

I am 100% for the Death Penalty.

A very, very close family friend of ours was murdered 3 years ago. The man who killed him readily admitted to it, he showed no remorse whatsoever, and to make matters worse, even though he admitted to kicking our friend so hard in the head that he was unrecognisable, the jury still let him get away with pleading self defense.

This was a man who attacked a stranger in the middle of the day, out in the open, where there were numerous eyewitnesses who attested to the fact that IT WAS NOT self defense. This is a man who was on parole for attempted murder when he killed our friend.

And now, because of our crap justice system, the family of this young man who was killed will have no closure, because the man who took away their only child will be able to walk free. Since the jury at his trial was not allowed to hear the evidence about the killer being on parole at the time of the killing, or several of the eyewitnesses, they (the jury) let this cold blooded killer get away on a self-defense plea.

This man took the life of a wonderful, loving, young man who had become engaged the week before his death. This young man's entire family has been destroyed by this event. Since we live in Canada, where the death penalty has been abolished, the death penalty would not have been an option in any case, but it would still have brought this murderer to justice, and given closure to a family that lost it's only son.

I speak on behalf of my family and the family of this young man when I say that we would have wanted to see this man hang for what he did. But we will not get justice.

An eye for an eye may leave the world blind, but at least we aren't judging on appearences any more.
 
madgeorge i'm very sorry to hear about your friend. that is a horrific thing that happened and no one should have to go through that.

i must admit, our justice system kind of sucks in some cases. people get away with a lot and it's unfair. i'm not sure if i'm exactly for the death penalty but i think that in some cases, it's necessary. it is kind of a harsh punishment, taking someone's life, but when that individual has taken the lives of others than i think that is when the death penalty is the only reasonable punishment.
 
I have a few questions:

First of all: How bad do you have to be to get the death penalty.

Second: is the death penalty just "the needle" or what??

Don't make fun of my stupidness please :)
 
madgeorge, I'm very sorry for your loss. Appalling is not even the word to describe it. :(

onenightstand, your questions are not stupid. I think the death penalty in the US is given to some of those people convicted of first-degree murder (premeditated) in a state that has the death penalty. Not all states do. Somebody with more knowledge on this, feel free to correct me.

As for methods, I think electric chair, lethal injection, and gas chamber are the ones that come to mind. I remember reading that Gary Gilmore requested death by firing squad...that was in the late 70's.

As you probably already know, Canada doesn't have the death penalty.

I'm not pro-death penalty but I think in the most extreme cases, I'm not going to lose sleep if a vicious killer gets put down. Man, would I have rested easier knowing Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (two of Canada's sickest murderers) were out of this world, as opposed to serving life in prison and uh, out living a new life.

I watched a documentary once about female death row inmates in Texas. Some of these women had murdered their husbands after years and years of unimaginable abuse. It was extremely sad. They did the world a favour and paid for it in the most extreme way.
 
aw madgeorge *hugs* I'm sorry to hear about your loss
I agree with the Death penalty myself if someone is going to routinely murder other people (like a serial killer) then he or she should be put to justice
 
I am all for the death penalty, although years and years of appeals seem never ending. I used to think it would be better if they were made to spend the rest of their lives in prison. Then I got to thinking about it and changed my mind. The horrible crimes these people commited show just how little they care about anything, so keeping them in jail wouldn't matter to them because they feel no remorse.

I also go for the eye for an eye...some examples: the parents (in the state I live in) who burnt their house down with their kids in it (for the insurance money)-they should be put in a house and have it burnt down with them in it. The woman in South Carolina (I think) who put her children in a car and dumped it in a lake and then said they were kidnapped-she should have to go through the same thing. The woman in Texas who drowned her kids in a bathtub---same thing. Timothy McVey-he should have been put in a vacant building and then blown up but no, he got to have a last meal and everything.

Those experiences would be more horrible than a lethal injection or electric chair and I'm sure they would be more terrified of that because it's less predictable. With the lethal injection and electric chair they know exactly when they are going to die. Doesn't seem fair..the victims didn't know when they were going to die.

Hope this doesn't sound too harsh. :)
 
I am not at all for the death penalty. Killing one simply because he killed some other(s) does not justify the case at all to me. I do respect your opinions, but I'm still horribly shocked you guys are willing to murder someone else. You guys share stories of those who commmitted terrible crimes and deserve to die for the sake of the victims- that shows you have total feeling and care enough about the people. But, IMO, you're letting your feelings lead your actions in someone else's life.... doesn't seem right. I say prison for life is perfect- you've taken away those people's freedom forever. They have their whole life to complentate their actions- and if they frankly don't give a damn, they can die by themselves in prison.
 
Guys,
The death penalty, which is a modified version of what they did in France during their Revolution, was never a solution to crime from its inception . I t only pushed the disease further into the social body. And, because of this, we, as a people, are getting sicker by the day without any hope of a fast recovery from the illness. However, sometimes more than not, the social physicians are more culpable than the evildoers themselves because they would let the social body die for their own benefit! In France, one is guilty until proven innocent. The judges wear red robes, a throwback to the robe of the headsman.
We say we are civilized and that we embrace science: Where are the scientific cures for a social disease? Have we ever looked into its socio-economic causes?? :(
 
I'm in favor of it if the person is convicted based upon proper evidence. I don't always think it's applied equally, but there are some crimes that are committed where the perpetrator does deserve to die. And for those who want to quote "Thou Shalt Not Kill." The phrase in Hebrew is translated "you shall not commit murder." This doesn't forbid capital punishment. In fact, the Old Testament gives very specific situations in which capital punishment is meant to be used, so the Biblical argument doesn't hold water.
 
1CSIMfan - How about an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind? What if the family of the accused belive that was unjust and kill some police officer or someone from the vitim's family? When would it end?
 
i am totally against it!
I mean the whole point of prison and correction places is to change people! Death penalty is like saying you don´t think people change!
It´s horrible, i mean you are commiting a crime by killing!
I think people can change and you should punish them, but not kill them!That is riddiculous!What possible reason is there to kill someone else?
I know that if someone killed someone i know i would want them to pay, but not to be killed and to suffer the same way the victim did! We are saying it is wrong to kill and afterwrds killimg...what ever happened to set the example....and what about the bible!
I says don´t kill...whatever the occasion!
I think nothing is bad enough to deserve death.
 
Greenfield,
I'm afraid the bible is a poor example. There are
a lot of people who follow the bible and yet, when it comes to killing another being,they do it anyway, pointing to a vengrful god as their example.
 
You know what? I'm a complete pacifist, but lately... I dunno. Some of the crimes I've been hearing about and the people who are committing them- I'm starting to change my mind.

I don't know anymore, but it's definitely not the black and white issue it used to be for me.
 
some people are really sick and twisted, i dont think they should ever be allowed back into society. personally, i dont really know if i feel the death penalty or life in prison is more appropriate.
i dont know if any of you are familiar with karla hamolka here in canada, but she lied and said her husband forced her to commit the murders, and in exchange for testifying she only got 12 years in prison. she has just been released and after appealing to the court they have lifted all the restictions that were handed down to her.
i, for one, feel very let down by my country's legal system that this woman who tortured and murdered teenage girls is out at large again.
 
Where does this woman come from? Sounds like she was born in one of the middle european countries. Perhaps Czech with German background??
 
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