Some people probably deserve the death penalty, but governments get their legitimate powers from the consent of the governed, right? In other words, we loan government some of our rights we have as individuals. For example, I can defend myself or my countrymen from a foreign attack (probably with minimal success). I can also loan the government the right to defend the nation from such an attack. It does not relieve me of my right of self defense or to defend others, it is merely an extension of my rights to government. If a person has committed acts deserving of the death penalty, but he is now rendered incapable of physically harming others (perhaps because metal bars prevent him), do I have the moral or ethical right to kill him? If the answer is, "No", I cannot extend this right to government because I don't have it in the first place. If the answer is, "Yes", and I exercise that right, neither you nor government may put me in jail because I was exercising a legitimate right. I think the former is preferable to the latter. Matters of defense aside, I'm against the death penalty because I can't legitimately kill in my own name let alone yours. If government belongs to us instead of the other way around, this how we must look at it. And if not, none of us is really a citizen; we are merely subjects, at best.
Death Penalty Consider this. If a gorilla attacked a child, raped it and then tore it apart, you wouldn't think twice about killing it. Don't be distracted by the "human form". People who do such crimes lack the "human" qualities that distinguish them from gorillas/animals. We give them a fair trial. But when the verdict is in, and we conclude they acted unhumanly then we should not feel bad about treating them like the gorilla. These aren't bad people. They are animals.
Agreed. Some monsters who are technically "human" really aren't so - they're animals who should be put down for their actions. I am a veteran myself. I once took an oath to protect and defend, and I had a little something pinned to my chest once for my ability to shoot a rifle accurately - I'd been shooting guns for many, many years prior to ever serving in the military. I'm also the type of person who would have no qualms about seeking vengeance on any such animals who would harm anyone close to me - other than the fear of getting caught, I'd have no reservations about it. Hopefully that will never happen within my family or to anyone else close to me.
Many of the nation's republicans are rooted in the South where they have a definate eye for an eye mentality. I am against the death penalty, but I lean more liberal in life. Many people in the South believe that you should suffer the same fate as your victim. Its all about the belief system.
I wouldnt say its "right wing". I believe in the death penalty. So do many people who cant be classified as either liberal or conservative. I think if a crime is really egregious and evil that the death penalty is appropriate. Some criminals should pay the ultimate sacrifice.
Now I get it! But let's get one thing clear too, we are not talking about self-defense. When you or anyone is put in a position that threatens life yes it's 100% acceptable to have to kill a person or animal. We are talking about taking another persons life when there is not an immediate threat of danger. I always thought people who were pro death penalty were interested in justice. I figured they saw the death penalty as part of having a just society, that it was a form of punishment. It was a way to prevent or punish criminals. I figured you might think having a death row will make potential criminals think twice about committing crimes. But I see now that is just a thin facade. Nothing in your defenses of capital punishment would seem to adhere to the rule of law or any of the above rational, reasonable ideals. You guys are only interested in murdering people who you judge to be lesser then you, who you judge to be "lesser then human". Your primary interest is revenge and vengeance. In fact it would seem you support criminal acts to achieve these means. I hope I am wrong on this one, I really hope and pray that I am wrong. Please tell me that there is more too it then this. I understand there is a minority of people who derive pleasure from taking the life of others, I sincerely hope this trait is limited to only the "monsters" who you describe and not a whole subculture of vigilantes who are just waiting for some excuse to kill people.
Death penalty I am not a big fan of government either, but I'd rather have a formal process of execution than linchings. DP is needed as penalty and deterrent in vile situations.
These people deserve to be put to death IMO, and if they had done this to anyone close to me, it's very likely I would have gone after them one by one and taken them out (or perhaps paid others to do it for me) had they not been quickly arrested and not denied bail or not unable to make bail... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom I don't know if you ever saw "Deathwish", "Deathwish 2", etc. But to me what the main character Paul Kersey did was understandable and pretty much justified IMO, if not actually legal and not actual self-defense killings due to imminent danger. Of course if I was a cop or officer of the court, I'd be singing a different tune. [video=youtube;ntAPiiScaOE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntAPiiScaOE[/video] And again, I would hope to never be in such a situation that I would come across such thugs or have loved ones come across them and be harmed by them. But I don't blame such people for seeking and getting vengeance, and I'd no doubt be very tempted to do the same thing...
Let be frank. Some people deserve to die. As other have said earlier, high scrutiny has to be met where there is irrefutable evidence that the person in question is guilty. Even so, if the crime doesn't require the death penalty, I think the guilty has the right to request it. If they are going to get 50+ years to life, might as well get it over with and not let it be a burden to the tax payers. Just a thought. Give them the opportunity for an out.
I have watched a few Bronson flicks, all very entertaining. However these are works of fiction, they do not reflect real life. I still stand by my words, that death penalty supports are just bloodthirsty, you embody the very traits you seem to use as a justification for your murderous desires. Revenge is an animal instinct, yes sure I would feel the same way if something terrible happened to the ones I love. But I have the presence of mind to know that nothing good will come of it. My mother taught me that two wrongs don't equal a right. Pretty much everyone used the word "opinion" when talking about their reasoning, to support killing someone on an opinion is a pretty weak argument. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/12/us/a-doomed-inmate-drugs-himself-is-revived-and-then-executed.html The above article really sums up the mentality, it isn't about seeing bad people die. This is about society being able to murder people and feel righteous doing it. Stop the BS. Just tell me that you just want to see people killed and you want to feel morally justified doing so. That's clearly the reason, every other explanation falls short. Don't tell me it's to save the taxpayer a buck, capital punishment is more expensive. Incarceration is cheap since we get economies of scale from it. To set up an entire system to put to death a few people is very expensive. When dealing in human lives, cost effective isn't a very good goal. The Nazi's had that mentality, it was cheaper to gas people who "deserved" it then to waste bullets on them. Don't tell me it's a deterrent to crime. If that was the case then the places that have capital punishment wouldn't have high rates of crime. If that was the case countries that don't would have higher rates of murders/rapes ect then places that do. Also if it was such a deterrent then people who are "animals" would just move to places that would not put them to death, or would go there after the fact knowing that if they were extradited they would be protected from the DP. Finally many criminals see death as a favorable option (murder-suicide) as opposed to being locked up for life. Have you ever looked at the list of places that still use the death sentence? It isn't a list of typically admirable places... I am not attacking/disparaging any of those counties, but I will be damned if I will allow my country to ever allow it again. You know it wasn't very long ago that a conscripted Canadian soldier could be put to death for desertion. Let that sink in. The government had the power to not only force you into combat, but would kill you if you did not. I never want my government to have that power over it's citizens lives. I regret to inform you that if you support capital punishment, you are on the wrong side of history.
