who thinks hard labor should replace the death penality?
113512
A sane society kills its maniacal killers. Those on death row are beyond rehabilitation. They are beyond any usefulness to society. In hard labor for life they are a continuing burden on society. How beneficial would it be to still have Gacy, Bundy, et al still alive and in prison? Would you want these horrendous people out in public on a "crab boat" with a chance to escape? Are you for real?\n\nIt would be better to keep the appeals process from going on for 15 years, at the waste of taxpayer dollars.
1076451
I don't like the private prison idea.  I am concerned that a profit driven model could lead to things like cutting down on maintenance which could lead to escapes in the  future.  Plus being private what would happen if the workers decided to go on strike.\n\nPrisons by their very nature are going to house some of the worst society has produced.  This is one area that I would  prefer the government keep control because it can muster the resources needed if things go wrong.
669385
make the punishments more severe so that lesse people do crime so less cases..faster the cases move in court
873963
Lifetime imprisonment and hard labour.
699052
I dont believe in the death penalty because I dont believe a government should decide when to end a life especially when more often than not, the accused doesnt have enough money to afford any decent defense.  Besides even people who are obviously guilty have the right to life only God may take it when he feels the time is right.  Life in jail is the only solution.  Remember just like in the Animal Kingdom, the strong prey on the weak so someone who leads a criminal life will ultimately offend a bigger fish.
715184
that is one way off lookin at it but the arguement against it could be.\n1. if the person was found innocent later on...they could be freed\n2. suffering for a life time much better than a quick death\n\ni have a solution...\n\nturn prisons into factories... like get them to make pillows....or bag up paper clips or something... that way they can "give back to society" and still suffer!... cos that wat it all about!
147898
Abolish it entirely.  Our justice system is not infalible.  There have been multiple people sentanced to death and exhonorated post-mortem.  That's enough reason for me.  Besides which the death penalty is motivated by revenge, not justice.  An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.
1180933
We (as a society) kill those who commit the most atrocious crimes so that we can show those who are living that there are consequences to actions. We would hope that the prospect of death would detour folks from participating in such heinous atrocities but, obviously it doesn't. People are a become increasingly depraved and indifferent. Personally I think we should do away with the death penalty, its senseless.
1089367
I don't believe in the death penalty. They are just commiting murder, and two worngs never make a right. God decides who should die at what time, so I think you are right, they should put him in jail for life and make him suffer for the pain he has caused people.
304215
I haven't checked out the site, because my opinion is firmly developed on this subject.\n\nThose deemed guilty of a crime against society, especially a violent crime, in this day and age, are only punished by lack of freedom.  That is not sufficient penalty, in my opinion.  I believe that convicted criminals should be subject to any and all heavy labor deemed relevant to their 'repayment of society'.  \n\nIf imprisonment is to be a true deterrant to crime, it must be 'beyond horrible'.  That's not to say that we should torture, or abuse criminals, but by golly, developing a farmiliarity to HARD WORK can only help them when they get out of prison.\n\nAnd, as an example, I find it personally objectionable as a taxpayer to be paying for cable t.v. service for inmates.  Or to be providing vegetables and grains for prison consumption.  Veggies and grains should be produced by prisoners in prison farms.  \n\nInmates lifting weights all day, or earning a law degree is simply not O.K., if it's done on the backs of their law abiding fellow citizens.  Just my opinion!
1034602
Make several new prisons and stiffen penalties in the law for serious crimes.\nAnd bring back the death penalty for murders. (If there is one)\nMost of all, speed up the justice system, make sure criminals are charged quickly and sentenced promptly.\n'Justice delayed, is Justice denied'.
978301
Death penalty laws are social engineering. I cannot subscribe to the ethics of social engineering. As a nurse who has worked in the system with pedophiles, I know also that episodic imprisonment is ineffective. They are relentless. I support the only known ethical solution which is chemical castration.  But, then again, I believe in that for Conservatives, too.
268411
I fully support capital punishment. The only real problem with capital punishment is how long it takes from conviction and sentencing to execution. Upon conviction and imposition of the death sentence, there should be an immediate and thourough appeal review. If that review also concurrs with the conviction and sentence then sentence should be carried out expeditiously. In my opinion the time between sentence and exectution should be less than 30 days.\n\nAll punishments should be swift and sure. Then they really WILL act as deterrents. Even without the deterrent factor, removing a murderer from society will always be a wortwhile act.\n\nWhile we are at it we should return capital punishment to desertion and treason.
296764
I say yes.  I also think that people that are on deathrow should not be there for the long periods of time that they currently are.
849298
No.\n\nAs a matter of PUBLIC POLICY, I would cite the following reasons:\n\n(1) Death is an irreversible punishment, and overzealous juries/prosecutors get it wrong WAY too often.  (RECENT EXAMPLE:  Read "The Innocent Man", a nonfiction book by John Grisham.)\n\n(2) Taxpayer dollars spent on criminal sanctions should be designed to protect society, not dish out retribution. Yet, statistical data is clear that the death penalty and tougher criminal sentences does not deter murder or violent crime.  Why?  Most violent criminals are sociopathic/psychopathic and simply do not rationally weigh the consequences of their actions before committing violent crimes.\n\n(3) The numbers indicate that the death penalty is not imposed upon the worst of the murderers (i.e., the person who actually pulled the trigger and killed).  Why?  Truly disturbed seriel killers more often than not have mitigating circumstances that get them out of the death penalty (e.g., severe abuse as children).  Second, the death penalty is most often sought where the prosecution can get an easy sentence (i.e., the person who drove the person who pulled the trigger, because the person who actually pulled the trigger ran to the police and got a plea deal for life without parole).\n\n(4) Prosecuting the death penalty costs taxpayers more than simply giving them a sentence of life without parole.  Why?  Courts want to do everything they can to ensure that an innocent person is not put to death.  Unfortunately, innocent people are being released from death row routinely, despite the fact that they had numerous appeals.\n\n(5) The death penalty is not fairly applied.  For example, Harris County, Texas prosecutes more death penalty cases than the rest of the State of Texas combined.  Is that fair?  Is it fair that a black defendant who kills a white victim is 8 times more likely to get the death penalty than a white defendant who kills a black victim?  Is it fair that over 90% of the defendants on death row in states like Texas, which have no public defenders, had no money to hire an attorney and had to receive court-appointed counsel, most of which have no criminal law experience?\n\n(6) Once again, criminal sanctions should be designed to protect society, not dish out retribution.  Although victim's families will say, on the eve of execution, that the death penalty gives them closure; pyschologists who actually follow up with victim's families will tell you that is a fallacy.  (Read up on it for yourself.)  If the government wants to be in the business of making victim's families feel better (as opposed to making society safer, which is the primary purpose of criminal law), then it would better devote the financial resources to providing psychological services than seeking death penalty prosecutions.\n\n(7) The assertion that a person who commits murder poses a risk that he/she will murder again is ridiculous if the alternative sentence is life in prison without possibility of parole (as it is in most states for murder).  A rapist or other violent criminal is just as likely to murder or commit violent crimes on other inmates than murderers are.  We are not making other inmates (all of whom commited violent crimes if they are in high security prisons) statistically safer by killing murderers.\n\nNow, my Christian view:\n\n(1) One of the Ten Commandments given to Moses says "Thou shalt not kill."  That's a period at the end of that sentence.  It does not say, "Thou shalt not kill unless the person you are killing killed someone else."  There is no "unless", no "if", no qualifiers whatsoever.\n\n(2) In response to all of those "good Christians" who are often so quick to cite the Old Testament (Exodus 21:23-25) as grounds for supporting the death penalty, I would direct you to two passages from the NEW TESTAMENT:\n(i) "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a too
269401
Send the illegal immigrants back to their countries. That's where many of our child workers come from, right? I also think we need stricter penalties for abusing child labor. i.e. boss who keeps 16 year old past his working limit should be fined.
736783
With DNA evidence, we have no excuses for NOT implementing capital punishment. If we cannot have this, then life should mean life, not 15 years of Playstations and pool tables. I truly feel that is only supporters of capital punishment who place true value on the life of the victims.