is the death penalty administered fairly? how so?
479474
If it were fair, there wouldn't be so many living on Death Row for so many years at Taxpayers expense.
466850
Good side about the death penalty?\n\nWell...\n\nhttp://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/thoughts.html#pro\n\nTry that website for both pros and cons.\n\nThe main reason is that it's a deterrent for criminals.
803111
Hitting a child teaches violence.  Therefore it isn't a effective punishment.\n\nThe death penalty is effective since the person who is executed is no longer around to commit crimes.  However, I do not support the death penalty because there is always the risk of convicting/sentencing the innocent.  The chance of putting innocent people to death isn't worth it.
1132558
I am in favour of a death penalty.  If you want to believe that a life sentence is going to teach a murderer anything, then YOU pay for it.  If you want to pay room and board for a prisoner for the rest of his/her life, you're welcome to try, but you have no right to ask someone else to do it.\nImprisonment means you and I are forced to take care of criminals, and for those in the habit of taking by force, what better life can you imagine?  Abolishment of the death penalty is every dishonest person's dream.  It's the path to a life of coercion with impunity.  It's become far too easy to forget about the victims.  What about their rights?  The issue of victim's rights also reveals the fact that many crimes have no victims... ask yourself why victimless crimes are illegal (after all, cops and judges need to look busy, don't they?)\nTo those who claim prisons are cheaper-- what planet are you on?  Keeping murderers and rapists in prisons is only cheaper than, what, keeping them in mansions?  Thanks to the INjustice system, we have a ridiculous number of innocent people doing time.  In a horribly misguided attempt to regulate business and morality, prisons are full of people guilty of illegal, but not immoral, acts: smoking pot, trading stocks at the wrong moment, selling sex, gambling, etc.\nThe real problem is confusing legality with morality.  If you kill someone, and it was NOT self-defence, you have forfeited your right to be alive.  That fact doesn't change from place to place, but laws do, obviously.  In some countries, you could be put to death for being gay or an atheist, but in those cases the executioners are the murderers.  Blaming wrongful executions on the death penalty is like blaming a shooting on the gun.  If we're going to save innocent lives, we have to fight the religions and governments that destroy those lives.\nUltimately, the real issue is not the concept of execution, but rather the abuse of law by the corrupt and the persecution of innocents by those who make -and enforce- laws.
894019
Absolutely. The death penalty should be administered to anyone denying the existence of God.\n\nOnce of course, his existence is proved.\n\nOver to you Heinz!!
992175
Most people have an entitlement attitude: something happened that affects ME, so I deserve to be compensated. I think that's total shite, and so is the death penalty.
899454
To answer your question and to refute the genius who compared captial punishment to abortion:\n\nThe fact is, yes, there have been far too many instances where people have been put to death then later found innocent.  Our judicial system needs to put policies in place that will prevent this from EVER happening.  But generally, if a person, without a doubt, has been convicted of a malicious crime, they should be put to death.  How sane is it to allow someone who raped, tortured and killed a young girl to sit in a jail cell and live off taxpayer money?  If that individual feels someone INNOCENT deserves to die, why should they be allowed to live?  Again, I believe there should be WITHOUT a doubt concrete evidence against a person who is put on death row.\nAnd concerning abortion...unborn babies have not committed heinous crimes.
874451
Assuming that you are talking about here in the United States; In order for someone to be eligible for the death penalty they would have to kill at least one person and probably more. My question is: is their death by lethal injection any more cruel than what they did to their victims? So my answer is, they are getting better than they deserve when they are executed and it is too humane.
773767
It could be argued that the Death Penalty does not prevent a person from committing treason, rape  or murder.\n\nThis is debatable.\n\nWhat is not debatable is that it prevents a miscreant from committing treason, rape of murder a second time after he is caught, tried, and found guilty.
1057321
I don't agree with the death penalty aspect of it. \n\nThere's no way the death penalty should have even been on the table considering Peterson was convicted with purely circumstantial evidence.
891888
CHeck out the Death PEnalty INformation Center.  They are the national aurhority on the Death Penalty.  Just google them.  They're the best.
255002
Considering how long people sit on death row, it is probably not too far fetched to suggest that old age is the way most of them do go. Given a choice I would prefer not to go from old age. The gas chamber sounds like a nice way. \n\nActually, I always wondered why there is so much carrying on about the means of execution. For hundreds of years, hanging was good enough. Now for some reason it is frowned upon. I wonder how much the governments could collect by having nice public hangings and charging admission--say $25. Hold the hangings in the football stadiums. 100,000 attendance at $25 would be $2.5 million plus refreshments and souvenirs. There are probably enough people on death row that they could have events every week. Maybe even a double header. Maybe ABC would even like to buy the rights, another $50 million. They could drag the event out for an hour easily having a pre-execution interview with the condemned, interviews with the survivors of the victims, a review of the crimes committed. \n\nI am sort of surprised that no one has been promoting this.
930856
Question goes even deeper:  Is it right to kill anyone in the name of the law?  Sadam certainly qualifies for the sentence under current guidelines.  But, in his case, like any case, is anyone really sending a powerful message telling others to avoid this type behavior or you will be killed?  Would Sadam evenly remotely had considered doing things differently.  \n\nSo is the death penalty a crime deterent.  Or, is it more a tool for emotional revenge?  When I was younger I used to strongly believe in the death penalty.  But now, I wonder if the whole ball of wax ever even slightly affects capital crime.  "Have to get caught, trials and appeals last several years, greater than even chance of getting life, some even accept their fate. \n\nBut to answer your question - he got what the law said the punishment must be... right or wrong!
785652
Normally a crime would have to be heinous enough and the individual remorseless enough that rehabilitatoin is more than unlikely for the death penalty to be applied in sentencing.    If a person behaves in a manner so severly to the detriment of society, sometimes it is necessary to snuff those fockers out.   it maintains an equilibrium.    severe, even life extinguishing, punishment assures a proper balance in conduct of the entire herd.    \ncases have to qualify for the death penalty, and I think those that qualify must warrant such a punishment.   its logical, even reasonable.
887312
Not really.  When an individual is found guilty of a crime they, for the most part, have their rights taken away.  Is the death penalty morally wrong?  Probably.  Check out why Michigan did away with the penalty after wrongly hanging a man http://www.cuadp.org/history.html
225466
Life.. or better yet.. the death penalty (for Murder 1)
490858
It amazes me in America, a country built on the foundation of Christianity, that we condone state sanctioned murder.  No matter a person's belief, the only person who has the right to take a life is God, Allah or whatever you may call him or her.  \n\nIf we are talking about punishment, life in prison is no cakewalk it's severe punishment.  If we are talking about costs, it costs LESS to house an inmate in prison for life than to put him or her on death row.  The appeals process is so costly and the person remains on death row for so long, that it costs the tax payers more to kill someone than to send them to prison for life.  Often times, when an inmate is murdered via state sanction, they are not even the same person they were when the committed the crime.  You have folks being "put to death" 20 years after they committed the crime. So the state is then murdering someone who is no longer the person who committed the crime...umm the point of that is WHAT?  \n\nAnd finally, the death penalty does not deter crime.  Low life murders don't stop murdering because they know they can get the DP.  Crime rates don't decrease because of the DP.  And if you are going to get a low life off other streets and they are sitting in prison for 20 years before getting iced, then just let em rot in prison. I am just glad that I ain't the one who has to pull the switch. I would never be able to sleep at night.