Are you for or against the death penalty?

[iamgine]

I used to be for it, but now I lean towards life without parole (LWOP) due to these arguments:

1. Sentencing people to death by execution is three times more expensive than sentencing them to LWOP
2. No one sentenced to LWOP has ever been released
3. Death sentence results in years of mandatory appeals that often result in reversal. In a sample of 350 death sentences, 118, or nearly one-third, were reversed in part or in whole
4. LWOP allows victims’ survivors to move on, rather than keeping them trapped in decades of court hearings and waiting for an execution to occur
5. People on death row are provided much more comfortable single cells and sometimes gain celebrity status and attention just by being there
6. LWOP protects against wrongful execution

[warriorfan]

I used to be for it, but now I lean towards life without parole (LWOP) due to these arguments:

1. Sentencing people to death by execution is three times more expensive than sentencing them to LWOP
2. No one sentenced to LWOP has ever been released
3. Death sentence results in years of mandatory appeals that often result in reversal. In a sample of 350 death sentences, 118, or nearly one-third, were reversed in part or in whole
4. LWOP allows victims’ survivors to move on, rather than keeping them trapped in decades of court hearings and waiting for an execution to occur
5. People on death row are provided much more comfortable single cells and sometimes gain celebrity status and attention just by being there
6. LWOP protects against wrongful execution

I agree with most of this.

[rawimpact]

Well thought out post.


I am for the death penalty. In fact, I am for individuals who are serving life without parole to be given the option of death.

1. Sentencing people to death by execution is three times more expensive than sentencing them to LWOP
2. No one sentenced to LWOP has ever been released
3. Death sentence results in years of mandatory appeals that often result in reversal. In a sample of 350 death sentences, 118, or nearly one-third, were reversed in part or in whole
4. LWOP allows victims’ survivors to move on, rather than keeping them trapped in decades of court hearings and waiting for an execution to occur
5. People on death row are provided much more comfortable single cells and sometimes gain celebrity status and attention just by being there
6. LWOP protects against wrongful execution

Let me address some of these.
1. While this may be true, I don't know the numbers off the top of my head but that's an issue with the process itself not the action. Change definitely needs to be made here.
2. Right, but we're not comparing letting someone go to LWOP, we're comparing death to LWOP -- I can see either one considered to be a worse punishment. But if my family was the victim and the crime was severe enough to warrant either -- I think I'd want the criminal dead.
3-6 are all problems with the process not the action itself.



I'm no expert on law obviously, but there needs to be limitations to the appeals process. Additionally there needs to be a bit of time between conviction and punishment or death to allow for new evidence to be brought forward.

During that time the criminal should treated no differently than he would a criminal in for LWOP. IF no evidence after that time... lets just say 5 years of time to find new/emerging evidence then death should be executed.

BTW, why are we starting our Thursday morning with this topic? Pretty dark thoughts this early.

[ZenMaster]

It's a tough one, and like with gun control and abortion I find them really hard to decide on as I can argue it either way.

As Raw mentions, the appeals process needs to sorted out though and it definitely shouldn't come at a higher cost for the tax payers to convict someone to death vs life on parole.

[starface]

Wrongful conviction potential is the only reason I dont support execution across the board for murder convictions. Otherwise Id say put them in a year long solitary confinement (as a deterrent) and then snuff them at minimal expense.

But obv I dont wanna see the wrongly convicted get screwed in unrecoverable ways. So that remains the issue.

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

For.

[Patrick Chewing]

I am for the Death Penalty.


And, the more heinous the crime, the more heinous the form of death should be.

[~primetime~]

I am very much for...one of my conservative leanings

many of those things listed in the OP don't have to be that way...it SHOULDN'T be more expensive to execute vs. keeping someone alive their entire life

also from what i understand wrongful convictions are becoming extremely rare due to DNA testing

[imdaman99]

I don't know because sometimes we find out 50 years later how someone was wrongly locked up. I know that's different from the death penalty but if someone is locked up for 50 years, you've stolen their life anyway. What the hell is someone gonna do as a 70+ year old?

Also that doesn't sound right. It costs more to execute someone than it does to keep them locked up for life? How much do executions cost?

[CelticBaller]

Against.

It lets the criminal get away with their crime easily.

[~primetime~]

James Holmes has life without parole...our prisons are over crowed and real criminals are being released on the street, people like James Holmes should just be put to death, him being alive may be the reason another criminal is roaming.

[tpols]

Against.

It lets the criminal get away with their crime easily.

what so we have to pay for them for the rest of their life housing and food with taxes?

the problem isn't the death penalty, but instead USA lawyer culture and the overcomplicated judicial system. You think in China they waste decades debating shit? lol it's just one to the back of the head and over with quick. problem solved if the crime was bad enough.

[starface]

what so we have to pay for them for the rest of their life housing and food with taxes?

the problem isn't the death penalty, but instead USA lawyer culture and the overcomplicated judicial system. You think in China they waste decades debating shit? lol it's just one to the back of the head and over with quick. problem solved if the crime was bad enough.

This is all well and good in a world where evidence is infallible and government and prosecutors have integrity. But in the real world, it can lead to a lot of wrongful deaths.

I agree our system is OVER complicated. But you also wanna make sure you take enough time to get things right. Too much simplification leads to abuses and false convictions/execution. It doesn't make for a very civilized society.

[tpols]

This is all well and good in a world where evidence is infallible and government and prosecutors have integrity. But in the real world, it can lead to a lot of wrongful deaths.

I agree our system is OVER complicated. But you also wanna make sure you take enough time to get things right. Too much simplification leads to abuses and false convictions/execution. It doesn't make for a very civilized society.

China's society has way less crime than ours. Ditto Singapore, Japan, etc. Yea they're overly harsh, but it actually makes people stay in line better. And be more "civil". Those mfers would never let an organization like BLM survive and behave the way they are out in the streets.

[Long Duck Dong]

Multiple unrelated witnesses to a murder or conclusive video of the act, confession combined with DNA or hard forensic evidence. Execution within 30 days of conviction.

All else life imprisonment.