Death Penalty

[UP VFR]

I am for it, but as posted earlier, it is actually more expensive to execute someone versus spending the rest of their lives in prison. Also, it has been proven to not have any deterent value. But I still say fry em!!

[HalfLiterBeater]

I say fry them for one reason only. Prisons are already overpopulated and overtaxed. We don't need to add to that. What we need to go is get drug offenders out of prison and get them into alternative therapy and rehab programs. So we have the space we need for those that truly DO need to be in prison.

[Casket Crew]

Originally Posted by UP VFR

Also, it has been proven to not have any deterent value. !

Source?

And if that's correct it's because it's not harsh enough DP should be violent nd painfull and should be put on live TV!! So people SEE people paying the price!

[N-Ish]

I'm also for the Death Penalty for people that kill someone while DUI....

[Rascus]

Originally Posted by L8 Braker

Also, I don't know if you're on my side or not...Given your original answer, my thoughts are clouded on whether you agree with me or not...

Hey I'm all for it L8. I wish we could find some place like that where we could drop them off and don't have to worry about them. What I was saying was that idea has been proposed and it was considered "cruel and unusual punishment" I think we are spending WAY to much money to house convicted people on Death row. We need to start line them up and throw the switch. American taxpayers should not have to pay for it. So i'm totally with you on it

[RSixxygrl]

I say invent the electric bench and get rid of a few--that way it will save money than just one at a time!!

These inmates live better in jail than they do on the street...too much tax dollars going to that....if they have to be in jail..strip them of all their little luxaries they get...that's not jail..that's a damn country club...have jails like they do in other countries where it is actually misearable --rant off--

[L8 Braker]

Originally Posted by Rascus

Hey I'm all for it L8. I wish we could find some place like that where we could drop them off and don't have to worry about them. What I was saying was that idea has been proposed and it was considered "cruel and unusual punishment" I think we are spending WAY to much money to house convicted people on Death row. We need to start line them up and throw the switch. American taxpayers should not have to pay for it. So i'm totally with you on it

Cool...It was your smilie in that response that threw me...

[Rascus]

Oh..I put that in because I'm mad that they consider that luxury "cruel and unusual" They actually had planned to used old Navy ships and anchor then off the coast and put them on there to serve their term. Again "cruel and unusual punishment" WTF...sailors are out to sea 6 months at a time, get served Grade D beef, milk that says "Not consumable for children under 5" grrrrrrr

[DarNinja]

Originally Posted by RSixxygrl

I say invent the electric bench and get rid of a few--that way it will save money than just one at a time!!

These inmates live better in jail than they do on the street...too much tax dollars going to that....if they have to be in jail..strip them of all their little luxaries they get...that's not jail..that's a damn country club...have jails like they do in other countries where it is actually misearable --rant off--

haha, does she look good when she's upset !!

lol, your always one step ahead of me SixxyGrl.

[UP VFR]

Originally Posted by Casket Crew

Source?

And if that's correct it's because it's not harsh enough DP should be violent nd painfull and should be put on live TV!! So people SEE people paying the price!

It was some research that i had done in college for a paper, CJ major. it was stated that punishment needs to fit three categories to be an effective deterent. I don't remember now what they are but it had to do with punishment fitting the crime, it needed to completed closely in time to the actual crime and one other thing that i can't remember. Some of it was from studies that were completed by the FBI and several universities, also from some course books...

American corrections, Clear and Cole
America's courts and the criminal justice system, Neubauer
Criminal justice today, schmalleger

[Rascus]

Article just out about San Quentin Death Row

Story Link here


California Allows Glimpse of San Quentin Death Row


By Adam Tanner

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (Reuters) - Shortly after the gate slammed shut leading to aging San Quentin prison's cells housing the most dangerous murderers already condemned to die, the warden issued a stark warning.

"People have been killed standing where we are standing," said Jill Brown, whose prison holds 613 men sentenced to execution but awaiting court appeals. It is the largest death row in the nation.

Brown allowed a small group of journalists to visit death row at San Quentin on Monday for only the second time in the past 36 years. The state's Department of Corrections is hoping to build public support for a new $220 million death row at the prison to house the swelling ranks of condemned inmates.

[RSixxygrl]

How about kill them??? Geeze what is wrong with people?? 220 million?? OMG...think what that could do to help out California and not some miserable sub human POS!!

or instead of killing them like what is supposed to happen...drop them off in Iraq and let them fend for themselves

[SpeedJunky]

I voted against.. I just don't see death as punishment enough, is all... I'd rather have them live the rest of their life in total misery, in a society of other animals, no hope of it ever getting better.. and plenty of time to think over what they did. Like in a confined area in the north pole where they have to tear each other out over the few resources dropped off every now and then. A painless death? Easy escape. They can always opt to kill themselves though..

You have to look at the adaptability of a human. After a few years a lifetime in jail isn't that bad of a fate. They become used to their surroundings and comfortable with their environment. Death penalty is cheaper anyways.

[linuxbikr]

I support the death penalty but the system requires reform to be an effective deterrent. First, I only support it in cases where the guilt of the accused is beyond question (caught on video, multiple eyewitnesses, irrefutable DNA evidence of guilt, etc). In such cases, they get one appeal upon conviction provided there is grounds for one and a limited time to file one. If no appeal is filed or it does not hold up to scrutiny and is denied, the convicted walks to the execution chamber the very next day. None of this 5-20 years on death row crap. If you lack such beyond question evidence of guilt, then the maximum is life in prison. Such a system (although idealistic and naive on my part) would go a long way in keeping costs down, execute only the truly guilty and scare the living crap out of anyone who thinks they might skate on this. If you are convicted, you will know very, very quickly whether you'll be walking that last mile.

My mother and I disagree on capital punishment. Canada abolished it (which is where I am from). I am for it in limited circumstances and she is against it. Case in point, the DC snipers. Since I live near where a couple of the shootings took place and got to live through that "looking over your shoulder" situation, I have a very firm opinion on the matter of capital punishment. They both deserve death and I think they should be shot in turn, preferably running for their lives across a field somewhere. If someone offered me a rifle and the option of shooting either one, I would do so without hesitation or loss of sleep over it. On that, my concience would be clear with the knowledge both of these scumbags got exactly what they deserved.

I agree with Robert Heinlein's sentiments on punishment: "For punishment to be effective, by its nature it must be cruel or unusual otherwise it is not a punishment at all.". Nature itself provides pain and flight instincts in us and by stimulating those instincts in negative ways do we achieve the reinforcement of good and bad behavior. Bad behavior gets rewarded with pain so we avoid the bad behavior. We also tend to remember the pain aspects of such consequences and likewise would want to avoid them in turn.

Today's criminals have nothing to fear except maybe their fellow inmates. Not exactly a picnic but a sight better than what prisoners of old faced. One thing I would like to see introduced (or reintroduced) is corporal punishment. Canada had corporal punishment up into the 1970s before it too was abolished as "cruel and unusual punishment". I think it needs a comeback.

In Canada, you could be sentenced to X years in prison along with Y number of lashes. Canada used to whip people. But whoever set this up was a genius in the concept of deterrence. Say you were convicted of armed robbery and got 10 years and 20 lashes. When you started your sentence, they gave you 10 lashes coming into the prison. Then they treated you, you healed up and began serving your years. When your release date was set, you were brought back down (say with a couple months to go) and given your other 10 lashes. By the time you were released, you were healed up but you never, ever forgot it. Letters, interviews and notes from prisoners who experienced this system firsthand said the worst part of it was not the 10 year sentence. That was the easy part. What made the sentence hard was the knowledge of what they would be facing again before they left prison as they had already had a taste coming in. Facing those 10 lashes again frightened the prisoners more than any prison time they received and several stated after it was all over they would do a lot to avoid such a punishment again. Given such statements, I think it was an effective if harsh deterrent.

Can you imagine here in the US if they had such a system? Especially in juvenile crimes? When I was young, spanking by your parents and getting the strap in school was an accepted and feared punishment and it certainly worked well. If you caught a kid stealing and they got 90 days in juvenile hall and 3-5 whacks, I think it would very quickly have an effect. Same for the adult crimes. Get convicted of dealing drugs? Fine, 5-10 years and 15 lashes of the whip/cane/strap/etc. Do it like Canada did and split that up and I think you'd be seeing a serious drop in certain crimes in a hurry.

Prison is not supposed to be fun and the deprivation of your freedom should be seen in a light that makes you not want to repeat it. If you kill someone in some heinous fashion, your life is forfeit. For these prisoners on death row who beg for mercy because they've found God and forgiveness and are changed, sorry, not buying it. Thank God in person for his forgiveness. End of story.

[Inky24]

I'm all for it.

I also think that whatever you do should be done to you. You beat someone to death with a bat. Stick him in a room with the family members and a bunch of big guys with bats and let them beat the scumbag to death. You stab someone, you get stabbed. You throw someone off a cliff, you get thrown off a cliff. Tape it and put it in pay per view. Anyone remeber that movie Running Man with Arnold? Do something like that, id watch it

Also, I believe in the whole fair trial thing, but in certain situations it should be thrown out the window. If there is solid proof then no fair trial. Lets say some guy killed his kids in front of 28 witnesses, 2 of them being cops, and 1 of them caught it on tape, why does he get a fair trial?

I really don't understand what the fuck some people's problem are. Why not just get along, why be dick heads? I really wonder what goes through their heads. It's pretty fucked up when you think about it and it pisses me off. No respect anymore. Problem is that there isn't enough dicepline and it's only getting worse. All these laws they are passing are just making things worse. I understand why there passed, but people take them to a whole new level. There is nothing wrong with giving your kid a good backhand to teach them respect. However, punching him in the face 20 times is wrong. Thats why the laws are passed, but yet they get tiwsted around. You smack your kid today and fucking social services might show up and take him off your hands because some up-tight bitch of a teacher in school noticed a bruise and called them. Next thing you know you got people tering your house apart and going through your personal shit, accousing(sp?) you for being a bad parent.

Hmm, sorry to go off track. I'll stop now, cause i could go on all day when it comes to shit like this.