From the news recently, one of the guys who was involved in the bombings in the Boston Marathon might conjure death penalty, which was inevitable right from the beginning. Some say that he doesn't deserve to die, but they should force him to answer questions that the police/interrogators may have, some say he just deserves to die because he basically conduct a terrorist act against innocent civilians. What is your thought on a death penalty, a damn right good deed, or a deed that is too harsh?

Against. Rotting in prison is far more harsh than making a possible martyr.

Against. If I was a serial killer and I was sentenced to capital punishment, I would feel like a lottery ticket winner.

Against. You give murderers slow and painful rotting in a prison

I kind of support the idea because it constructs the consequences of some capital and miscellaneous crimes. Things like rape, treason, arson (especially if an individual or more are within a household/complex), and even larceny deserves a death penalty.

Even as a northerner/liberal, I'm for it. Yeah, say a serial killer gets convicted for life in prison - the person MIGHT suffer more in prison, maybe they'll get raped or something, who knows. As a matter of a fact, I'm certain a lot of bad things would happen to this said person. But those are only the bad angles of it - that very person gets to breath. That person gets to laugh, gets to converse, do a lot of things that he/she took away from another person(s). And that right there, is what I'm not okay with. They are given small privileges daily that they took from another. So yes - allow the death penalty. You just have to limit it to extreme cases IMO - not just any murderer or anything like that. But definitely don't want the "rot in a cell to think what you've done" - no, you don't even earn the right to rot. You don't earn the right to think. You've earned death.

King Lannister wrote:

Even as a northerner/liberal, I'm for it. Yeah, say a serial killer gets convicted for life in prison - the person MIGHT suffer more in prison, maybe they'll get raped or something, who knows. As a matter of a fact, I'm certain a lot of bad things would happen to this said person. But those are only the bad angles of it - that very person gets to breath. That person gets to laugh, gets to converse, do a lot of things that he/she took away from another person(s). And that right there, is what I'm not okay with. They are given small privileges daily that they took from another. So yes - allow the death penalty. You just have to limit it to extreme cases IMO - not just any murderer or anything like that. But definitely don't want the "rot in a cell to think what you've done" - no, you don't even earn the right to rot. You don't earn the right to think. You've earned death.

Exactly, just exactly. That person doesn't deserve to breathe if he has done a crime that justifies death. You made that decision to take the en route to commit a crime that will end you up in your own death pool. Why enjoy the luxuries in prison, whilst the people that EVEN get sent to prison manage to escape with 5-10 years by putting on their "best behavior" face.

I'm only against it because of the flawed nature of the legal system. If it was able to prove for certain that someone was a murderer, terrorist, etc. then I would support it. Unfortunately, there are people who get convicted unjustly. If these people were sentenced to death, then it's over and there is no chance to one day vindicate them and free the innocents. It sucks that a lot of truly guilty people would get to live but for the few who aren't I feel it is worth it. Though some would argue that being put to death unjustly is better than life in prison for a crime you didn't commit. Also some murderers do turn their lives around in prison, not that they should be forgiven or get past what they've done, but the point of prison is self-improvement and it's a wonderful thing when it works.

Against. You don't kill other people and you certainly don't stoop to the level of those that do. I don't give a damn if it's for justice, revenge, making statement, whatever. Killing is wrong. We, as humanity, should be above the death penalty by now. Does the person have the right to laugh, the right to converse, the right to do most of what they want to do? Of course not but the fate of another man or woman's life should not be in the hands of another person. Plus what if it turns out that they were innocent? Then what? The families of those murdered would face a tremendous amount of guilt as would the judge that gave the order, the jury and anyone else involved. It's time we moved on from capital punishment.

MTM wrote:

Against. You don't kill other people and you certainly don't stoop to the level of those that do. I don't give a damn if it's for justice, revenge, making statement, whatever. Killing is wrong. We, as humanity, should be above the death penalty by now. Does the person have the right to laugh, the right to converse, the right to do most of what they want to do? Of course not but the fate of another man or woman's life should not be in the hands of another person. Plus what if it turns out that they were innocent? Then what? The families of those murdered would face a tremendous amount of guilt as would the judge that gave the order, the jury and anyone else involved. It's time we moved on from capital punishment.

I agree with this. Just to add to the post, I haven't heard a single prisoner say that they enjoyed their time in prison. First of all, as the prisoner you have no privacy whatsoever. You can't go outside and breathe fresh air. The food at the caf is crap, very cheap in terms of its cost and nobody checks it. You can't go on a computer or watch TV. You have no way to connect to the real world. A lot of people get beaten up on a daily basis. Your inmates will make you suck their dick and body guards at the prison ain't gonna do shit about it. They are just gonna laugh at you and enjoy themselves. The toilet is right in your cell and you have to sleep right next to your shit. I imagine you can easily catch a cold or some time of illness. If you have a tooth cavity or you are really sick then you might have to wait a really long time to get a treatment from a doctor..if ever. And when/if you get it, you never know if they are going to put something inside of you and make it worse, because remember you are a monster, you killed people, you deserve hell. Your family, friends and other loved ones have probably all turned away. Some of them might visit you and remind you how much of a big shit you are and how they wish you were never born. I don't know who you are going to talk to when most people there are fucking insane and you never know what they wanna do. You might laugh a couple of times but is all of worth living for if you are prisoner? Hell fucking naw

TLA wrote:

I'm only against it because of the flawed nature of the legal system. If it was able to prove for certain that someone was a murderer, terrorist, etc. then I would support it. Unfortunately, there are people who get convicted unjustly. If these people were sentenced to death, then it's over and there is no chance to one day vindicate them and free the innocents. It sucks that a lot of truly guilty people would get to live but for the few who aren't I feel it is worth it. Though some would argue that being put to death unjustly is better than life in prison for a crime you didn't commit. Also some murderers do turn their lives around in prison, not that they should be forgiven or get past what they've done, but the point of prison is self-improvement and it's a wonderful thing when it works.

Prison is not really the place for potential self-improvement. For the past two decades, the recidivism rates regarding prison has grown massively because of the fact that some people tend to try and put on a good behavior whilst at prison. Therefore, once they get out, they still go out to perform the same criminal stunts because their records have been damaged. There is rarely a chance that a person that received a death penalty may have been innocent all along, because it is the lawyers' task to try and help them in some way. In Washington, one-fifth of eighty four people during the past twenty years that faced persecution had layers that were barred, arrested, or even suspended for their jobs. With the severity of the criminal cases these days, a death penalty is the only suffice way to show the potential domino effect of what happens when you step out of boundaries.

It boils down to the severity of the crime committed for me. In other words, not every criminal should be treated to a death penalty as there are other suitable ways of punishing that said person, that may prove to be even worse.

Then again, we live in a world where emotions overpower the mind in terms of judgement, especially in this type of cases so I wouldn't be at all surprised if the death penalty becomes a common sentence, even for those who don't necessarily deserve it.