Hellobee Boards

I've been moving all the hypothetical threads from this morning into Playspace... we don't really have a natural home for them here on the site, but that's the most appropriate forum given the alternatives.

I do but only because the justice system is way too messed up as it is. If it were possible to actually make criminals suffer for the crimes they did, and not cost regular citizens any money then the death penalty would not be necessary.

Never. The death penalty is not appropriate under any circumstances. To counter the typical arguments in favor: It is more expensive when you count all the appeals etc. to execute someone than to put them in prison for life, so life sentences are NOT wasting your "taxpayer money." Also, it does not necessarily make the family members of victims feel comforted. I've read many interviews where people said they thought they would feel better when their loved one's killer was executed but that turned out not to be the case. It didn't change anything. Nothing can bring someone back once they're lost.

I also do not think it should be the government's place to enact revenge and the death penalty, to me is revenge. Life imprisonment is punishment. If our government is telling people not to take others' lives, isn't it hypocritical for us to execute people?

But finally, and IMO most importantly, there is too much room for error. So many people have been freed from death row, especially with advances in DNA science over the past decade or so. It is chilling to think how many people must have been unfairly executed. This article talks about one guy who was likely executed for a crime he didn't commit, and it is frightening: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann

I was always anti the death penalty. I just don't feel that it's right to take a life, even if that's what the crime was.

Now that I'm a mother, I struggle with my thoughts on this. The sandy hook killer for example, or those guilty of the Jamie Bulger murder, or those that shot the baby last week.

Before becoming a mother, I would say we don't have the right to kill those guilty no matter how heinous the crime. Now my conviction on the issue is wavering, especially for the types of crimes I listed, where the suspect was caught in the act and definitely guilty.

I don't know.

@MrsTiz: Does it make a difference that it costs taxpayers more to execute someone than it does to imprison them for life? Just curious.

Well shoot - today (and yesterday) are just chock full of controversy! haha. I bet Mr Bee is stressing out

My state doesn't have the death penalty, and while I usually say I am against it, there have been some times where I wish it was an option. For example, this man shot and killed his wife and nine month old daughter, and now he's in a medium security prison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Entwistle)

Being on death row shouldn't be a 20 year wait. I don't know everything about the topic but there is no way that tax payers should have to house these inmates. Inmates should be making the prison money by working and providing for themselves. I know where I live, people actually try to get into jail so they have a warm place to sleep, mcdonalds for supper, big screen TV's to watch, etc. This is where the justice system fails. At least where I am from.

@wheres_c: I agree. However if it was my LO that was murdered, that person would literally go missing and never be found. Just saying.

I agree that there needs to be some serious prison reform. Prison should be a punishment for those who are justly put there. I am not, however, pro-capital punishment.

I am in the unfortunate position of having to deal with this first hand.. without going into too much detail (though it was a national news story) we delt with an inter-family double murder and the person in question would have been up for the death penalty. He committed suicide in jail before he went to trial so it ended up being a moot point. I would not have wanted the death penalty for him, even though I knew how atrocious the crime was. I'm glad we didn't end up having to go through that because my family is pretty divided on the issue, and it would have made a horrible situation even worse.

@Shutterbug: True, but if you got sentenced to death and were given 5 years (or less) to file an appeal and tie up loose ends with family, imagine how much money that would save. 20 years on death row is nuts.

I am very torn on this topic. On one hand, I think if someone did something awful to DD or DH, I may wish that the perpetrator be sentenced to death. On the other hand, I think there is way too much human error. Even with DNA or forensic evidence mistakes are made and if even one innocent person could be killed, we shouldn't have it.

@jmarionsmith: Good point! I love how an expert in this article puts life sentences vs. death penalty: "If you want to deter people from leaning on your stove, medium heat works just as well as high heat." http://news.ufl.edu/1997/01/15/death1/

I’m not really sure where I stand on this. In some cases, I feel that death is the easy way out. I don’t believe in heaven or hell so it’s not like that person is going to burn for eternity (in my opinion). When they’re gone, they’re gone. That’s it. Someone who committed a truly heinous crime doesn’t deserve an easy way out but then again, death is pretty much the ultimate punishment and sometimes it’s fitting. If I had to choose, I guess I would probably lean on the side of pro death penalty under certain circumstances. I know that prison life isn’t a walk in the park but 3 balanced meals a day in a climate controlled environment hardly seems like proper punishment.

Obviously the justice system doesn’t work like this but I think it would be nice if the victim’s family got to choose the criminals fate. They’re the ones who lost their loved one and will never get to see them again. They should have a say in how the person that so selfishly took their parent/spouse/child away, gets to live out the rest of their days.

I'm torn on this. I'm not opposed to the death penalty in theory; but I think we need to halt executions in the US until we can fix the system. And if we can't fix it; I think we should just stop executions forever. There is too much racial disparity on death row, too much room for error, too much room for lawyer inexperience, economic disparity, etc

All for it. No question about it. You hurt my family- you're gone.

@illumina: thanks for the thoughts. It's been a few years so it's not as raw, but your kindness is appreciated. To be honest, he didn't even feel like family. When we found out what happened it was like there was a complete disassociation between who he used to be, and who he turned out to be. The victims were our true blood relatives, he was only related by marriage.

@scg00387: very well said.

In theory I am against the death penalty especially where there is doubt about the person's guilt. BUT honestly there are some terrible crimes committed where I think just jailing them for life isnt enough. Especially mass murders where there is no doubt about the killer

I don't know, after having a child my views on the death penalty have changed. People that have committed such horrible, unspeakable, disgusting, and gruesome crimes, and have no remorse for their actions, in my opinion, are not human, and do not deserve to even take one more breath in this world. Why should someone who committed a horrible murder/s be allowed to eat 3 meals a day, watch tv, work out, etc, when the innocent life they took no longer exists? If it were up to me, they would be killed the same way that they killed someone, but that will never happen of course. I do not think it should take as long as it does though. They should not get to sit on death row for 20+ years.

@hergreenapples: I find the idea of restorative justice completely fascinating. The first time I really read a lot about it was in this article -- I highly recommend it! http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/magazine/can-forgiveness-play-a-role-in-criminal-justice.html