the death penalty-should it be legalised?

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carlyh

Slave to angels passion
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after thinking about the murder of that guy the other day, i got thinking as whether the government should bring back the death penalty or not. personally i think it's a hard decision to make, as they say to take a life you become a murderer yourself, wheras on the other hand, there is the saying "an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth" i think if the crime is really bad enough then it should be legalised! although the problem with that is that what if you amde a mistake? there's no going back after that is there?
please i would like to know what you think on this controversial issue! all opnions welcome! it will not be held against you!
 
i think the chances of a mistake are far too large(ie. any at all) as there's no going back.
there's no proof it works as a detterent .most criminals don't think they're going to get caught
but mainly i think the eye for an eye mentality is wrong.why let murderers lower us to their level.state sanctioned or not, taking someone elses life is always murder.
 
I don't think they should bring back the death penalty. There is too bigger margin for error. Anyway simply killing someone as punishment is often not enough. A life of imprisonment, without freedom to do anything is far worse a punishment in my eyes. The family and friends of people who are killed have to live the rest of their lives in torment, why should murderers and alike not get the same.
 
There was already a discussion about this subject at another board so I copy it. Yeah I know I am lazy:

They don't have death penalty in Holland and it is a good thing too that it doesn't happen here. Personally I think that this is wrong and who are you to decide whether somebody must live or not?

I think that the goverment in the US and everywhere in the world who has death penalty is very stupid. Why? It says (the law) that you must not kill people and what does the goverment then when they are executing someone? Exactly, killing other people. Does this mean that the goverment is above the law. Scary isn't it?

And I believe that if an offender commited a horrible crime that the death penalty isn't a punishment to him at all. He gets just a quick death and that is that while if you put him in jail then he gets the time to think about his crime and gets guilt feelings and it will haunt him until he dies. He gets mentally tormented and this is a better way to punish someone without violence.

Btw do you honestly believe that the members of the jury are objective. They hear the sad stories of the victims/ family of the victim and then the jury feels sympathy and choose for the side of the victim. And this also a way to get rid off your enemies--> not that I've done this but there are people actually cruel enought to do this.

And a lot of innocent people are right now waiting in their cells for their death to come for crimes they have not commited and because of death penalty this number is growing and growing.

This is such a tough subject but I am against death penalty. I would say that people like Dahlmer they should put him in jail, throw the key away and never look back.
 
Personaly i think the death penalty is wrong its just an eye for an eye and i do think that is rather petty.
Also if there is any risck at all of a mistake then the risck is way to high.
 
i feel really strongly about this for some reason. i think that by taking a life, you know, your damned and you won't get into heaven, extra, but if you take the life of the murderer, it makes you just as bad as them. how can killing more people die help. they'll only suffer for two minutes when killed. where's the punishment in that?
( i had an idea when i was five that they put all murders on an island surrounded with shark infested water. through in a few cannibals and problem solved. i think that's pretty darn clever for a five year old.)
but no, i'd probably cry or something stupid if they brought it back. i think it's just making you as bad as them.
love cordy xx xx
 
I'm sorry but I'm going to be really contraversial here and go against the grain... I think some drastic measures need to be taken here in the UK at least... over the past few days how many baby snatching incidents have happened, how many people bend the law, how many kill, steal, pull a gun on you just for a mobile phone and then shoot you in the face the moment you hand the thing over... these people must suffer and yes some get 'life' as the law likes to call it but behave and you're out in no time and who's footing the bill for their stay in prison? The Tax Payer, the victim...

I'm not saying that the death penalty should be used willy nilly but for those cases where the life of a child has been taken or an innocent... for example the old lady that was tied and beaten to death by some teens... or the Jamie Bulger killers where are they now, living a dream that some of us can only hope for, moved to another SUNNY country, given new identities and protected by the law that governs us... how incredibally wrong is that?!?!?!

If the death penalty doesn't go through then a harsher punishment of some sort must come through... the world cup is happening again and how many reports will appear on the news about british fans stirring up poo in other countries, those who merely go to these matches to stir up trouble... the trouble makers should be weeded out and dealt with... oo you won't be able to travel abroad to a country where there's a match... I say Suspend their passport all together, keep dibs on them...

The death penalty however should not be used until all routes point to Guilty... if there is even a margin of doubt then decide on another punishment... name and shame... have them pick up trash in city centres naming their crime on a big old sandwich board...

Sorry I'm feeling strongly about crime at the minute since my mums car was broken into again yesterday... there was obviously nothing in there... and yet they still chose to break the window.. and who foots the bill? The victim...
 
Having looked at this over the last 3 years, its a very controversial subject and not one that is easily solved. There are two sides to each argument and each have their own reasons for believing how they do. Personally i'm am neither for it or against it, i feel that there is too much to consider and make a decision.
 
Originally posted by Lindsey McDonald
I'm not saying that the death penalty should be used willy nilly but for those cases where the life of a child has been taken or an innocent... for example the old lady that was tied and beaten to death by some teens... or the Jamie Bulger killers where are they now, living a dream that some of us can only hope for, moved to another SUNNY country, given new identities and protected by the law that governs us... how incredibally wrong is that?!?!?!
Click to expand...

I think the point with Thompson and Venables is, they've paid for their crime (whether you believe it or not) but what if they went on to be like Mary Bell? She killed two children she was babysitting when she was 13, she was released from jail in 1982 after spending something like 15 years in jail. She had a baby girl in 1984, and was given an injuction of anonymity because of the child. She is now seeking what Thompson and Venables have, a life time immunity order, because her child was only protected until she was 18, but they are arguing that as she still lives at home she should still be protected; the point is of should the sins of the father be visited upon the son? Whther the Bulger kilers should have families, whether they deserve that, is debatable, but if they are continually hounded by people, what happens to their possible children? One of the was planning on marrying when he was released; I agree that his family, both previous and post generations should be protected, but to do that he himself has to be protected. it's catch 22.
 
I don't think killing someone is a punnishment, it does not last long enough.... plus putting someone on death row because they killed another is still not fair.
Two wrongs will never make a right.
But i would never be one to say for definate, so i agree with Faith really, i would never put myself in a place where i would have to make the decision. I may think its wrong but i will never say it should always or never be done.
 
Don't know about the Mary Bell case whether it was just a case of gettin a lil narked off with the kids or whatever but what the Bulger killers did was calculated and almost definately thought over if you read the things they did to that child while he was still alive and kicking... would you say that childs last moments of life were happy... nope wouldn't say it was... I just feel that they should suffer, why should they get to continue their life at the tax payers expense in a new country when Jamie won't ever get that chance...

But I still believe harsher punishment is needed in this country whether it be the death penalty or somthing else...
 
I think the major fault seems to lie with the prison service in this country.

I don't think, as a country, we can decide whether we intend to help those in jail or the victims of crime. Until we sort that out, we can't progress with the justice system.

I mean, it's a pure and utter joke that you can take someone's life via drink driving and end up not going to prison whereas you can go to prison for assault. Insane. But that's not my point.

It's a difficult decision regarding the death penalty but ultimately I don't believe that you should do anything that you can't retract. We're all human and we all make mistakes however much we'd like to think that we don't.

You only have to look at the enquiry into the Harold Shipman case at the moment to see what an appalling mess was made of the first investigation into Shipman's practices - had he been caught that first time, he wouldn't have been able to claim the lives of at least 3 other patients.

Anyway, as much as the eye for an eye quote is used, I'd like to believe that we live in a civilised society and as much as people should feel free to do as they wish by religious texts, I think it's important to see how our customs, values and ways of life have evolved since that phrase was coined.

But yeah, for every case that is correctly sentenced, there's also tragic miscarriages of justice...often due to the pressure police officers find themselves under to come up with a suspect due to public interest.

It's a no-win situation but I don't believe that we're going to create anything productive by killing people.

If people have committed crimes that are supposedly worthy of death, surely they should be punished severely instead....which is where my note about the prison service comes in. When you read about the boys who were facing charges of murder earlier in the week who had tvs, playstations etc in their rooms at detention centres, you hold your head in your hands. Honestly, it's probably a better life for them inside than it is outside and what sort of incentive is that for them not to commit crime? What sort of an incentive is it for people who do behave themselves but see little pleasure to carry on being model citizens? Complete madness.
 
Originally posted by Lindsey McDonald
Don't know about the Mary Bell case whether it was just a case of gettin a lil narked off with the kids or whatever but what the Bulger killers did was calculated and almost definately thought over if you read the things they did to that child while he was still alive and kicking... would you say that childs last moments of life were happy... nope wouldn't say it was...
Click to expand...

I don't think she tortured the children like the Bulger killers did, but she certainly murdered them horribly and tried to conceal it, not very well though. I mean the two cases that are really comparable to Thompson and Venables are Hindley and Bell so I can't think it would have been a swift painless death if the three are so easily compared. I think it probably comes down to "are tehey a reformed character" and it no doubt helps that Mary Bell found religion in prison....
 
LM you say death penalty shouldn't be used until "all routes point to guilty".at which point is this.how does this differ from beyond reasonable doubt?it seems to me it is virtually impossible to meet this requirement.who decides the beyond beyond(sic) reasonable doubt?
where did you get your mobile theft /shoot in the face story.did it happen in the uk?i seem to have missed it.
finally belief in the death penalty seems to deny the belief in redemption.are the jamie bulger killers capable of this?how different are you from when you were 12?if they can become productive members of society.if so surely this would be one of societies greatest successes.
 
So if society reformed two killers it would have been okay for a child to lose his/her life in a brutal fashion, just so society can feel proud that they reformed two killers, who tortured and maimed a young boy before eventually killing him..... hmmmmm?

(sorry I'm like a dog with a bone at the moment)

As for the mobile phone theft, it happened a while back here in the UK I think it was just before the new year... made the headlines and the evening news.
 
proud wouldn't be a word i would use.but can you really say killing a 12 yr old is better than attempting to reform them.the only purpose this killing would serve is revenge.it sure as hell ain't going to save the murdered.
and i'll ask again what is "all routes point to guilty"?
 
The fact is despite the whole story that they haven't reformed that they were the cause of fights when they were locked up, they're being rewarded with this new life... I'd kill to move to the US and obviously it works... kill someone get a new life in the states.... It's just awful.

The fact is these people have killed, sometimes even raped or tortured before they've carried out the deeds, let them suffer on death row.. why should tax payers be the ones to fork out for them to stay in rent free accommodation... yes yes human rights and all that but what about the rights of the victims that have suffered or in the case of a murder victim, the families that are still suffering...
 
No, I personally don't believe in the death penalty. A Government santioned murder is no more right than any other. However, if someone murdered my niece or nephews, I reserve the right to hunt them down and kill then myself! And I would be prepared to accept the inevitable consequences. I believe in personal responsibility.
 
how does the death penalty give the victims rights beyond revenge.a murderers greatest succes could be to lower you to their level.
do they suffer more on death row than a life sentence.death penalty has an end.
the bulger case is not a great one to use for an example as the whole thing has been changed by its high profile nature.you can't take the circumstances of this one unique case and say murder = us vacation.its not great but i personally think its a damn site better than killing 2 young kids.society itself is just as much to blame for what these kids did so why shouldn't we pay.we've created the environment where this event can occur.............

(throws bone back)
 
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