Why have we not got a death penalty when?
920755
The death penalty was stopped in this country in the 1960's,as a lot of truly innocent people were executed.\nOkay we only had hangings,but i think it should be brought back now,as we've advanced so much.\nWhat with d.n.a testing and other ways of gaining evidence,i don't think we would have a problem apart from people crying out about their `human rights`
13803
No, it does not make us a better nation ,but, if properly utilized it may create a safer nation! In reality we do not utilize capital punishment as very few convicted criminals are ever sentenced to death, and even, when sentenced to death, automatic appeals prevent the timely execution of criminals.  Therefore, capital punishment is not a deterrent.  How strange that people rally to prevent the execution of murderers but demand the right to continue killing more unborn babies. Here in the US we have "legally" sacrificed more babies, numerically, than the individuals exterminated by the Nazi regime of Adolph Hitler. Yet we dare to call ourselves a moral, civilized nation. If we decide to give capital crime offenders life imprisonment without the possibility of parole maybe we should at least require that life be given to inutero individuals, unless the life of the mother is at risk.
600447
Yes, for 2 reasons - they made their choice when they took a life & why should we as taxpayers pay to fed, clothe, educate & guard life sentence criminals.\nIn our state it is rarely given - must be cruel - like all murder is not cruel. Murderers forfeit their right to live.\nMy brother was murdered while buying a gallon of milk during robbery. They got the death penalty but it was overturned & they get out this year his 3 children are not even out of college yet. They grew up without him.
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.
389213
There are no known cases inside the US since the Death Penalty was reintroduced in 1976.
735479
It amuses and entrtains the public -- as it has from the beginning of time -- and helps cynical politicians to get elected. Other than that it doesn't accomplish much in this age of "life means life" and "life in prison without possibility of parole".\n\nAnd it costs the state far more than life imprisonment to accomplish. Appeals all the way to the Supreme Court, etc. are expensive. Capital trials have come near to bankrupting some small counties, which pay for trials but not for prisons.\n\nIf you are from the UK, forget it. Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, part of UK law under the Human Rights Act 1989, forbids the death penalty "under all circumstances".
741820
The problem is our judicial system is very flawed.  There are many innocent people in jail, and guilty ones in the street.  I agree some people are given lighter sentences than what they deserve and others harsher than they deserve.  But our system is what it is, if you don't plan on getting out there and trying to make a change then there is no point in complaining about it.  I am back and forth on the issue of the death penalty,  but to answer your question, yes there should be certain criteria for sending someone to deathrow.   There should be certain regulations.  But every crime is different, and until it happens to you or someone in your family it is hard to say.  and that goes for being the defendant or the victim.  it is hard on both families.
260596
The death penalty isn't used quickly enough to limit criminals to only one moment.
581262
Yes, some people are just not fit to be in society. So, they need to be put down, sadly. We can't just keep cold blooded murders locked up, there is no room in our prisons and they deserve to pay for what they did, justice for the familys.
694532
The death penalty will never be introduced and this stance should stay that way.  People have told me you can still be executed for treason... this is not the case. \n\nThe main reason is no mater what people do, there will always be some corrupt individuals who will not adhere to the procedures of a fair hearing/trial.  This will inevitably cause a miscarriage of justice.\n\nIt is a total myth that the death penalty reduces crime.  What I would say is if a person is determined to kill they will.  If they face the death penalty, one may think, kill as many people as the punishment is the same.\n \nI quote the Indian congressman Ghandi “An eye for an eye, soon the whole world is blind”.
143518
Because apparently public execution is distasteful, so we have to lock em away and crowd the prisons.  I bet if we televised someone getting executed, there'd be a lot less repeat offenders.
34205
becasue there are people out there the deserve it. I believe in the death penalty very much. If they are found guilty of what they did and its a bad thing then they deserve to die for it. They have no mercy on what they did so why should we show mercy.
633507
We stopped capital punishment many years ago in this country (UK).  The result has been that murders are on the increase every year, as a 'life' sentence can see a prisoner released in as few as six years with good behaviour etc.\n\nThe absence of capital punishment, in my belief, discriminates against the victim.  With the advent of DNA fingerprinting, the chances of convicting the wrong person for a crime should be 3,000,000:1.  Unfortunate if you are the 1, but far more likely that you would be in the 3,000,000 - unless, of course, you committed the crime....
357958
agree let's make it a capital crime the death penalty isn't used enough in this country.
32268
I am absolutely against the death penalty, in all cases, no matter what the offender did, who the victim is, and so on.\n\nWe punish murder because we think (as societies) that murdering is wrong. So, we cannot simply kill a person just because this person has killed! That is plain revenge, not justice! It is doing to them what we're criticising them for doing! Remember this: "Do as I tell, not as I do"?\n\nLeave alone killing other criminals, who aren't killers themselves. In that case, we're doing to the offender something much worse than what they did in the first place.\n\nAnd what about people who are innocent? What about the political use of the death penalty? What about the fact that most of the victims are black or Latinos, poor and powerless? Don't Anglo-Saxon, wealthy and powerful people commit crimes? And even if they didn't (which is not true), doesn't anybody wonder what makes poor people commit crimes, in the first place?\n\nAs long as the death penalty is legal anywhere in the world, we're no better than animals. At least, they only kill when they're hungry. Humans make the state kill on our behalf, only because we are a very cowardly species.
774211
I expect from the moment there was a USA.  The death penalty was always there and would have been part of the history the early settlers brought to the US.  It was probably also in effect in some way among aboriginal populations.  As long as there have been people there has been a death penalty in one form or another.  \n\nThe first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes.  Here are a few interesting links.
645292
Dear Friend,\n\nCanada hasn't had a death penalty since 1976.  Plus, most cases of "actual innocence" are being made with DNA testing and other forensic evidence not available at that time.  So you'd need to do some serious historical digging on this one.\n\nYour Friend,\nFrancesois