Capital Punishment

[Lady_Threnody]

Sirenstoy

spooky_sez

Lady_Threnody

Speaking as an individual who was raped by my ex, I believe that the prisoners have a right to live dispite what they did. However, torture the murderers and rapists by letting them live in such a hostile environment while living like the rodents they are for the rest of their lives.... hell, rodents deserve more respect than they do. I honestly believe that torture should be an exception for these fellows. Let them be tortured for murdering and raping innocent victims... mind you, this is me being very nice in regards to this subject.

I belive that prison is torture enough.

Alrighty.... whoa, there. Some prisons are pretty much resorts. Seriously lavish and the like. Give'em three meals a day, cable TV, and now worries about bills for the rest of their days. Hell, even I'd kill for that!

I think that the old ways should come into play. Take off a thief's hand ( that is, unless he's got a starving family... or another damned good explanation), kill a murderer ... that sort of thing. Let the punishment fit the crime.
For example, right now we have rapists out in the streets after, oh, I don't know... five years of prison, whereas the guy who was selling pot gets stuck in the clink for life! Not really fitting, as the pot-peddler wasn't commiting a violent act, wasn't really hurting anyone.

Things are too soft. Too Politically Correct. ******** it, man. Let a murderer die in the way he killed his victim. Let a rapist get raped. Let mass murderers be mobbed by the local populace.

Sorry, I get a bit uppity sometimes....

I agree with all of that and no need to apologise. Its just interesting how people out there believe that rehabilitation works every time. Sure it works sometimes but not all the time. However, you can't put a murderer into rehab. There is a difference between self defence and murder, killing someone through self defence is not murder but murdering someone who is defending themselves is exactly that, murder. You'd be suprised how many people get that mixed up. Why? No idea... they just do. o_O

The old days were interesting with this but perhaps something a bit more fair would work. Examples: You kill someone, you get killed the same way. You sold drugs, you stay in jail for as long as you have been selling drugs. You raped someone, you get raped in prison while being someone's prison b***h for years and then die an old person STILL being a prison b***h... etc etc etc.  

[darkXmoon]

There are people in jail right now that have it better then me right now. An yes, that makes me just a bit pissy.  

[Self-Reference]

What I think bothers me is when people say that murderers have the right to live...

I would think, and do think, that since they so delibratly took their victim's right to life, they shouldn't be horrified at thier loss of life...

But of course, this only applies to thought out murders...An accidental death shouldn't be treated the same...But with a good lawyer, the cause and terms of the death don't really matter...

Unfortunatly, with the system of only having to make it look like the crime was commited to a group of random people, it can't be completely accurate....

But anyway, unless the victims family does not want them to be executed, it should be a wide open option...

And even then, it should be considered...After all, it's like jail, where it keeps them off the streets, but it's cheaper and more perminant.  

[zz1000zz]

lurichan

Hmm, that is an intersting point to be sure. To tourture prisoners in this day and age of political correctness though is not only frowned about but considered illegal enough that people can sue on behalf of the incarcerated. Sadly in many respects the penal system has gone soft on the criminals for the crimes they have commited. For instance people used to watch criminals get hung, and didn't really care if their neck snaped instanteniously, or if they slowly suffocated to death, but now great lengths are gone to to make sure that things like lethal injection aren't painful to the prisoner.

That has actually been a topic of debate lately. There is reason to believe lethal injections are not painless, but rather the victim is merely paralyzed, and unable to react to the excrutiating pain he or she is suffering.

The issue is whether the first shot given to the patient (the anesthetic) is effective in rendering the victim unconscious. If not, the following injections would cause excrutiating pain. While there is no definite answer to this query, the evidence in favor of it is enough that lethatl injections should be stopped until the effects are better understood.  

[Icy-Determination_020]

I am going to get flamed for this but I am sorry once you are put in prison you lose all rights as a citzen of the united states there for education for you via tax money is out of the question... as for putting them to death I think it should be researved for people who have commited horrible crimes such as murdering multiple people and children. I think child molesters should be put to death as well as any one who is so far corrupted that they could not possbily be released back into society.... I am sorry but most murders, rapist and ***** repeat there crime after being released.

Trying to reabilitate them is fine but does not work very often and often it just insures that it will be a bit longer before they commit there crime again.

Prisons are starting to get over crowded... so either we change the way we run prisons so they can fit more people... make cells smaller and take away the comforts that they get... they have cable, video games and other s**t that they dont need all paid for by tax payers.... I dont care too much about the money but the fact is it could be spend for education and afterschool programs aswell as in things to help prevent crime.
I would be happy to pay tax for that reason, but so that some f-ed up rapist can sit with his buddys and watch tv... hell no.

As for it costing more to put them to death, well make it not cost so much... I am sorry but whats the point in the gas chamber, the chair or lethal injection?
they cost money that could be better spent than killing some one.... a bullet to the head kills instantly and and wouldnt cost all that much.. maybe $200, if that.
It would be humane, quick and almost painless.
It would be more slightly messy but it dont cost much to pay a janitor to clean it up. Give the guy a nice meal, let him do something he enjoys doing... let him walk freely with an escort for a day or what ever.
then take them some where nice or to there likeing, let them be comfortable and then put a bullet in the back of there head.

Sorry if you dont think thats right, its just what I think would be a good idea.  

[TheFallenDark]

Sirenstoy

spooky_sez

Lady_Threnody

Speaking as an individual who was raped by my ex, I believe that the prisoners have a right to live dispite what they did. However, torture the murderers and rapists by letting them live in such a hostile environment while living like the rodents they are for the rest of their lives.... hell, rodents deserve more respect than they do. I honestly believe that torture should be an exception for these fellows. Let them be tortured for murdering and raping innocent victims... mind you, this is me being very nice in regards to this subject.

I belive that prison is torture enough.

Alrighty.... whoa, there. Some prisons are pretty much resorts. Seriously lavish and the like. Give'em three meals a day, cable TV, and now worries about bills for the rest of their days. Hell, even I'd kill for that!

I think that the old ways should come into play. Take off a thief's hand ( that is, unless he's got a starving family... or another damned good explanation), kill a murderer ... that sort of thing. Let the punishment fit the crime.
For example, right now we have rapists out in the streets after, oh, I don't know... five years of prison, whereas the guy who was selling pot gets stuck in the clink for life! Not really fitting, as the pot-peddler wasn't commiting a violent act, wasn't really hurting anyone.

Things are too soft. Too Politically Correct. ******** it, man. Let a murderer die in the way he killed his victim. Let a rapist get raped. Let mass murderers be mobbed by the local populace.

Sorry, I get a bit uppity sometimes....

i agree with most of this except where you said that a pot peddler isnt harming anyone
drugs tend to play a big part in crime when its committed
either it was the incentive to perform the crime or they were high and just felt for some attention....i have more reasons but im not gonna post them  

[Sulhir]

Capital punishment should be reserved for mass murders and molester and the like who are mentally incapeable of stopping.
If you kill off all the offenders who could improve, it's just giving them the easy way out.
Prison as it is now, isn't punishment.
People where I'm from (the homeless ones), in the winter, they'll commit a misdemeanor so they'll have a place to sleep and a steady food supply and by the time their term's up, it's spring again.
Prison isn't harsh enough, and neither is death.  

[The Rose of Demise]

Prision isn`t much of a punishment now a days.
If a guard beats a rapist or murderer, they can sue the guard for cash and get a shorter sentace. The prision system has gotten way too soft on these people. A lot of prisioners live a lot better on the inside than they do outside. Quit shelteing rapist and murderers away from the rest of them. This is the time to truly do rehabilitaion also known as getting the s**t beat out of them and being raped everynight by some huge guy named Bob. A lot of this couciling doesn`t work. It just makes them admit that they have a problem instead of making them get over it.
The redemption that many think of is merely nothing but a word created by young lawyers and attorneys.
About the death penelty, these people normally torture thier victims for days, raping them and killing people around them. This isn`t what the prisions do. They get leathal injections which will slow down the heart rate and mae the prisioner go in a euphoric and wanted sleep. Why don`t we get them like we do their victims?

Don`t call me heartless. I believein an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth when it comes to these kind of things. The only reason people shouldn`t get this treatment is if they killed as a mean to protect themselves from someone who is about to kill and or murder tham or their family.  

[zz1000zz]

Okay. I keep hearing people talk about how great prisoners have it. Here is a simple fact. Most prisons are nothing near a resort. The only time most prisoners see television is in a common area. And even that is uncommon.

I will try to give a brief description of the prison i know. You sit in your cell most of the day. About six in the morning a meal worse than anything you ever had in school or fast food restaraunts is served. Everybody trudges through the line, gets their food, then sits at a table. Where you sit is based off what group you belong to, similar to high school cliques. The major difference is that these groups openly hate each other and are more than willing to start fights. To get by you either intimidate people, or you just fade into the background. At the same time, you cannot be too quiet, or else everyone will pick on you. (Believe me, it is nothing like getting picked on in school.) The same routine is done for lunch and dinner. You get to spend one hour outside, on what looks like the playground to a school that has not been open in half a century.

The worst part is the cells. There are two people to a cell normally, but because of overcrowding, as many as four people may be in one at any time. The plumbing in this particular prison block is broken. When anyone flushes a toilet, every other toilet on the block overflows with the backwash. This means every time somebody flushes a toilet, every other cell is filled with six inches of s**t and piss.

Then there are the showers. Quite possibly the most disturbing experience is the first time somebody takes one. The cockroaches that infest the prison are the worst here. When you first enter and turn on the lights, the cockroaches that were roaming the walls, floor and ceiling scurry into the drains. Of course, usually the lights are left on, so you have no warning for what comes next. You walk into the shower and turn on the water. All those cockroaches that had taken shelter in the drains flood out, and cover the entire floor as the flee. You literally have a wave of cockroaches flow over you.

Naturally the inmates complain. But nothing happens, because quite frankly nobody cares. People love to talk about how great prisons are irregardless of the truth. People do this because if they had to think about how terrible places like this are, they would have to face up to how terribly we treat people in this country.

Ah, but you can complain, write letters. About once every three months, inspectors come to the prison because of the complaints. Each time they give the same orders, which are followed. They tell the warden to have an exterminator come to this block, so the warden orders it. When the exterminator comes, he cleans up the block. When he leaves, the cockroaches crawl back through the pipes from the other blocks, and resumes the same cycle.

So do not tell me how great prisoners have it. Sure, some may have an easy time, but that is rare. The majority of prisons are at best, decent. If the average person spent a month in a jail like this one, they would say it is cruel and inhumane. And people, this is why crime is such a problem.

We do not rehabilitate people in the United States. The reason some prisoners get college educations while in jail is that some people are trying rehabilitation. That is what should be offered in every jail. Criminals usually become criminals because of a bad lot in society. Tossing these people in a box and forgetting about them only makes the problem worse.  

[ceilisidhe]

zz1000zz

Okay. I keep hearing people talk about how great prisoners have it. Here is a simple fact. Most prisons are nothing near a resort. The only time most prisoners see television is in a common area. And even that is uncommon.

I will try to give a brief description of the prison i know. You sit in your cell most of the day. About six in the morning a meal worse than anything you ever had in school or fast food restaraunts is served. Everybody trudges through the line, gets their food, then sits at a table. Where you sit is based off what group you belong to, similar to high school cliques. The major difference is that these groups openly hate each other and are more than willing to start fights. To get by you either intimidate people, or you just fade into the background. At the same time, you cannot be too quiet, or else everyone will pick on you. (Believe me, it is nothing like getting picked on in school.) The same routine is done for lunch and dinner. You get to spend one hour outside, on what looks like the playground to a school that has not been open in half a century.

The worst part is the cells. There are two people to a cell normally, but because of overcrowding, as many as four people may be in one at any time. The plumbing in this particular prison block is broken. When anyone flushes a toilet, every other toilet on the block overflows with the backwash. This means every time somebody flushes a toilet, every other cell is filled with six inches of s**t and piss.

Then there are the showers. Quite possibly the most disturbing experience is the first time somebody takes one. The cockroaches that infest the prison are the worst here. When you first enter and turn on the lights, the cockroaches that were roaming the walls, floor and ceiling scurry into the drains. Of course, usually the lights are left on, so you have no warning for what comes next. You walk into the shower and turn on the water. All those cockroaches that had taken shelter in the drains flood out, and cover the entire floor as the flee. You literally have a wave of cockroaches flow over you.

Naturally the inmates complain. But nothing happens, because quite frankly nobody cares. People love to talk about how great prisons are irregardless of the truth. People do this because if they had to think about how terrible places like this are, they would have to face up to how terribly we treat people in this country.

Ah, but you can complain, write letters. About once every three months, inspectors come to the prison because of the complaints. Each time they give the same orders, which are followed. They tell the warden to have an exterminator come to this block, so the warden orders it. When the exterminator comes, he cleans up the block. When he leaves, the cockroaches crawl back through the pipes from the other blocks, and resumes the same cycle.

So do not tell me how great prisoners have it. Sure, some may have an easy time, but that is rare. The majority of prisons are at best, decent. If the average person spent a month in a jail like this one, they would say it is cruel and inhumane. And people, this is why crime is such a problem.

We do not rehabilitate people in the United States. The reason some prisoners get college educations while in jail is that some people are trying rehabilitation. That is what should be offered in every jail. Criminals usually become criminals because of a bad lot in society. Tossing these people in a box and forgetting about them only makes the problem worse.

This prison does indeed sound old, decrepit and far, far from code. As a matter of fact it would have been shut down were I to have inspected it while working for the health dept.
A prison I inspected was rather decent in comparison. ready access to common rooms wherein cable, video games, cards and board games were available and computer time for good behavior.(yes, some inmates were on gaia during that time - and still might be.) Each day a revolving set of inmates would clean the bathrooms while others would sweep and mop.....the meals were not bread and water as some would believe, but rather much like t.v. dinners. Most of the day is spent relaxing and lounging about, to be honest. Not harsh, grueling or the anguish-ridden torture those who have never been there seem to think it is. While I admit some places are better than others the truth is the one zz1000zz wrote of is in the minority. The reason I seem so sure of my assessment is because I had the opportunity to go in undercover to report on just how honest the warden was being about the conditions therein. That week was almost a vacation. This place (as well as others I've heard about from other people, both inmates and "plants") is only punishment to those who value freedom. To many it's just like an odd apartment complex.  

[zz1000zz]

I admit the prison i had in mind is a fairly extreme case (but not the worst), but even one being that was is too many. That there are quite a few is an atrocity. Ine of the major problems as i see it is that too often oversight of prisons only happens at the state level, and is done poorly at best. Illinois has as least three prisons i know of that are about on par with my description. Oklahoma, Georgia and Nevada also have prisons i would consider to be inhumane. I am half afraid to find out how common this is, but i suppose most likely it is not as bad as it seems to me.

Another experience that helped ruin my view on this subject was that there was one prisoner i remember who tried to tell people how terrible it was after he left, and he was laughed at. He wrote letters, made phone calls and even spoke with heads of some churches. As far as i could tell, people either did not believe it, or they did not care. A few weeks later he was found dead in a single fatality accident, and it was chalked up to drunk driving. Odd because this guy had hepatitis, which means he could never have drank that much without dying.

Anywho, i think people in jail should be given a nice place if they behave. Treating people poorly while they are in jail is a good way to make sure crime rates increase.

P.S. I have not been anywhere near the prison i mentioned in a few years, so i do not know if anything has changed.  

[Loki Iago]

I am torn on this issue but such facts as the following have pushed me to vote "pro".

- I am paying in tax-dollars to feed and keep alive a criminal who raped and murdered x people.
- There is always a chance of parol or some sort of glitch in the system by which he will walk the streets again


Mm...but if by believing people can change-- well, I suppose with some people change is impossible. Whether it's a pathological illness or just some other form of being permenently screwed up in a manner that hospitalization will never fix, a life-time in jail seems unfair to both us and them.

What does life in jail do to you? It sure as hell doesn't straighten you out. You either get more screwed up due to experiences there or you learn from other inmates how to do your "job" better. Note: have just seen BLOW again so I might be a little more influenced here.  

[mee_shee]

it's just letting them off easy  

[Hunter of the Dammed]

lurichan

This is a thread designed to discuss capital punishment, and whether or not it should be practiced, to express your views on it, and to generally discuss thoughts and feelings.
Many people feel that it is cruel and inhumane to kill someone for their crimes, where as others would point out the high cost of housing criminals and the injustice of paying for them to get an education amounst other things.
Personally I feel no remorse for murders and rapists, and feel that they do indeed deserve death for their crimes against humanity, but then a very interesting point can be raised... people do make mistakes, and what would the reprocussions be if a man or woman was executed for a crime they did not commit? In many ways that is why there is still such a long delay between people on death row being incarcerated and being executed, and there is always the appeal system which tends to oveturn a sentance of death, and grants a lesser sentance of life of inprisonment.
In the end though, does the state really have the right to take away the lives of those who have violated the social norms? On the other side of the debate, shouldn't the state keep people like that from ever stepping foot in society again?

Im pro, and if you cant find someone to do itCall me up. I dont think it is used enough. people who should be used on rapist, child molesters, those types of people  

[Scary Godmother]

Icy-Determination_020

I am going to get flamed for this but I am sorry once you are put in prison you lose all rights as a citzen of the united states there for education for you via tax money is out of the question... as for putting them to death I think it should be researved for people who have commited horrible crimes such as murdering multiple people and children. I think child molesters should be put to death as well as any one who is so far corrupted that they could not possbily be released back into society.... I am sorry but most murders, rapist and ***** repeat there crime after being released.

Trying to reabilitate them is fine but does not work very often and often it just insures that it will be a bit longer before they commit there crime again.

Prisons are starting to get over crowded... so either we change the way we run prisons so they can fit more people... make cells smaller and take away the comforts that they get... they have cable, video games and other s**t that they dont need all paid for by tax payers.... I dont care too much about the money but the fact is it could be spend for education and afterschool programs aswell as in things to help prevent crime.
I would be happy to pay tax for that reason, but so that some f-ed up rapist can sit with his buddys and watch tv... hell no.

As for it costing more to put them to death, well make it not cost so much... I am sorry but whats the point in the gas chamber, the chair or lethal injection?
they cost money that could be better spent than killing some one.... a bullet to the head kills instantly and and wouldnt cost all that much.. maybe $200, if that.
It would be humane, quick and almost painless.
It would be more slightly messy but it dont cost much to pay a janitor to clean it up. Give the guy a nice meal, let him do something he enjoys doing... let him walk freely with an escort for a day or what ever.
then take them some where nice or to there likeing, let them be comfortable and then put a bullet in the back of there head.

Sorry if you dont think thats right, its just what I think would be a good idea.

Or cut off their head. Instant death. Again, slightly messy, but the prisoner wouldn't have time to feel any pain.

I think that we (Canada) should bring back the Death Penalty. It's not so much a punishment as it is removing people from society who have no right to be there. Some would say that you can just keep them in jail for life, but how many people can we honestly keep in jail? We're too Namby-Pamby up here, that's our problem. Also, we're too damn scared of the States, but that has nothing to do with execution.

People like Paul Bernardo(Sp?) and Carla Homolka(Sp?) should have both gotten the death sentance. Instead, Paul's still in jail, and Carla could be my new next door neighbor, for all I know. People who commit crimes of that magnitude should never be released, on parrol or otherwise.

But that's just my opinion.