PUBLIC OPINION > The Death Penalty Is Necessary

Only because of the appeals process.

Money is money

Agreed. They should allow one appeal, then be done with it.

I'd like it if it didn't take forever and waste millions of dollars.

Dude, don't be a prick. Human life is sacred no matter what anyone does.

The lives of child molesters and rapists aren't sacred.

Yes they are. Even the biggest scumbags on earth were consecrated sacred by God before birth. Who are humans to decide when another one of their kind isn't sacred and when another one should die?

They were sacred before they committed horrific crimes.

Sacredness does not end in the eyes of God.

Unfortunately, not everybody believes in an all-loving God who lets kids be born in countries without steady food and clean water.

Sacredness ends in the eyes of humans, and those are the people who get to decide if the death penalty is deserved or not.

I'm actually pro-death penalty, but studies show, from what I understand, that we actually spend more money trying to kill someone than maintaining them in prison for the rest of their natural lives. I think it's something like $1 million more per person or something like that.

I doubt such studies, but... let's think about this.
All it REALLY costs to execute a killer is a couple of .38's and a fee for someone to pull the trigger. The victim's folk would probably do it for free. The $million is for the crybabies, bureaucrats and lawyer's retirement plans.
If there's some money around, seems there is always someone who wants it is his pocket.

To be honest, I can understand how expensive it is. The court system wants to be absolutely certain that those who are on death row are there legitimately and deserve that punishment. It often takes years and years and years before a criminal is finally executed due to repeals upon repeals and how long these sort of cases take to go through the courts. All of that takes quite a bit of money. Plus, there's the cost of maintaining these criminals in prison for that length of time, as well as the cost of the euthanasia, the medical staff, body disposal, etc.

I do often think that our current system can be inefficient and the euthanasia is a bit too "nice" for what some people deserve (to put it mildly), but I do think that everything needs to be done to be certain that the person on death row is guilty of the crime they are being sentenced for. There have been too many people on death row who are later found, sometimes too late, to be innocent of the crimes they were accused of and that is just tragic.

Some REAL statistics are surely available somewhere. Without such it's just spinning wheels to get into deeper discussion.

The statistics most people are referring to are basically straight out of the information released by state governments. The expenses are what they are, and they're definitely much higher than those of life sentences.

You forget all about Principles involved. I don't care to waste any further time with this, not with nor with anyone. Bey.

Yes i think the death pentaly is necessary. To many people are on death row. And if someone kill more then 2 people. And they did it on purpose they deserve to die. Well the only way they should stay alive is if they are mentaly ill and kill 2 or more people.Then they can go to a mental prison. I never heard about anyone that got exceuted was innocent. Also there are a lot of trials into murder cases like this. How can someone kill 2 or more people. In be innocent.

People have been executed and been found later to have been innocent.

Some names (among others):

John Frank Garrett
Thomas Griffin and Meeks Griffin
Timothy Evans

Other cases of those thought to be innocent include (there are many more):

Lionel Herrera
Cameron Willingham

If you watch a fantastic documentary called' The Thin Blue Line' about a guy sentenced to death row and you don't change your mind...well. I give up. It's not on Youtube (a trailer is) so you'll have to find it elsewhere. If you haven't seen it it is rated one of THE greatest documentaries of all time.

I'm on you side though...bad evil scumbags should be killed...but we must be 100% sure:)

Yeah ur last statement i really agree with you. And i will look at the trailer for the thin blue line. When i get a chance. I feel horribly for those people who were innocent and got kill by the state. Their lifes are now gone forever.

The only wasted lives are those who reject Jesus Christ. We all have our own prisons & hell to go through, & it is through our own positive choices that we learn & gain strength through pain & suffering. And no, I see it as a tragedy, but I've learned to rely on God, for each tragedy comes with its own blessings when we remain in God's plan for our lives. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate & value other POVs.

That's the fault of the prosecution, & has nothing to do with the death penalty, per se. Also, I believe most, if not all of those cases, were a result of poor evidence (DNA was not able to be used until more recent years, & there will always be liars who are put on the stand). I agree with your premise, Dood, & think there just needs to be tougher standards & a more rigorous search for truth. I watched the Thin Blue Line, & agree that it was very good.

what about serial killers or people like sadam that killed millons or kin jing ill etc. or the hilers or stalins of the world.

I already mentioned Hitler, Stalin and Kim Jong Il fella:)
Serial killers as aboe...but you need 100% proof for me (video evidence +DNA evidence for example and he/she admits their guilt and wants the death penalty)

The solution is to remove any and all protection against counter-suits (civil or criminal) for attorneys, police, witnesses, etc, when they leave out facts, ignore some evidence, give false (or misleading) testimony, coerce a confession, etc...

Strengthen the rules to ensure justice can prevail. Here are some ideas:

- Require that ALL police interviews (including confessions) are video and audio recorded, with digital signatures and time-stamping to reduce or eliminate tampering. This should include witness statements as well, as the paper police report is too easy to falsify, lose, etc.

- Encourage the public to record police officers whenever they see any interactions. For example, the Baltimore cop who went on a rage over some skateboarding kids.

- Maintain strict standards of photographic and video evidence collecting at any felony crime scene.

- Ensure that all evidence that was collected is not only documented, but always brought up in court. Too often it seems like if the evidence doesn't help the prosecution (such as a DNA sample that didn't match the defendant) they simply don't bring it up, and then it's up to the defense to be good enough to notice that and bring it up themselves.

Excellent reply. Good point on liabilty for the state and cops leaving out evidence that could prove innocence.

I think anyone who murders another person IS mentally ill, & thus should be destroyed. People are not born with mental illness. It is a result of rejection of Jesus Christ. I do agree with your basic premise, though. :-)

You want to destroy the mentally ill? There are Christians who suffer from mental illness. are you joking? No one chooses to be sick.

Please show me where I said I wish to "destroy the mentally ill". I'll wait . . .

just because there mentally ill , don't meen the get away will it. They can be gassed like somebody else. A eye for a eye.

An eye for an eye makes everyone go blind.

'I never heard about anyone that got exceuted was innocent.'


How about EVERY victim of the Salem witch 'trials'?

We have a bad history with the death penalty. Excuse me if I'm skeptical.

Oh ok well like i said when i get a chance i will watch the trailer of the thin blue line. And yes i do feel bad for the innocent people. But i still think death pentaly is nescessary .

I'm pro-life. I don't believe in the death penalty.

I'm from the UK so you probably know we don't have the DP anymore.



I'm not in favour (on the whole..hear me out).



Reason? Well, you could kill the wrong person. It has happened and it's the reason it was abolished in the UK.



Don't forget you've got D.A's, the police and lawyers all under a lot of pressure to get a result. They can provide very convincing arguements. Sometimes they know they are wrong but just want to win the case.



However, I AM in favour of the death penalty if there is absolutely no doubt (video evidence for example or for the likes of Hitler/Stalin/Kim Jong Il, if they were still around) and the defendant wishes to be executed (and obviously pleads guilty). If the family of the victimised agree (I would only allow this for murder cases) to the death penalty as well....let the games begin.



For me, a jury can always leave a reasonalbe doubt. All it takes is one charasmatic juror to win over the others and all could agree with him/her. A jury decision should still give the judge the option of life without parole.

My biggest issue with the death penalty is that it is applied unevenly. In the OJ case the prosecution stated from the outset they would not seek the death penalty. Their stated reason was the "wealth and fame" of the defendant. Sounds like Robin Leach announcing another episode of the Rich and the Famous. However if your're Poor and Anonymous and you cut two people's heads off we have a different deal for you.

i think it's the same the world over. You only need tol ook at the 'disappearance' of Lord Lucan after murdering his housekeeper or the 'Jack The Ripper' case in my country. We recently had Margaret Thatcher's son found guilty of helping a coup in Equatorial Guinea by selling arms/ helicopters and escaping with just a fine. The OJ decision was a real shocker.

I appreciate that you added both Hitler and Stalin, two monsters, to the list. However, when the DP becomes politicized that spells trouble. It is interesting to me that anti DP protesters show up for some executions but not others depending on the political pursuasion or ethnicity of the person being executed.

quote "However, I AM in favour of the death penalty if there is absolutely no doubt (video evidence for example or for the likes of Hitler/Stalin/Kim Jong Il, if they were still around) and the defendant wishes to be executed (and obviously pleads guilty). If the family of the victimised agree (I would only allow this for murder cases) to the death penalty as well....let the games begin."
By the time all the appeals have been exhausted, most of the doubt has been removed. Those that are put to death in recent times have been guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.