What is Digg?304 Comments
- BassCadet, on 10/12/2007, -64/+142"if a human ends the life of another human being without just cause, then they have forfeited their right to live and should be removed from the planet."
Utter *****.
Forfeited their right to live? What if you get drunk tomorrow night and make the drunken decision to drive home...and kill somebody else in a car accident? Have you forfeited your rights as a human being?
BTW, you people do realize that it costs taxpayers more money to put someone to death than to jail them for the rest of their lives, right? And you realize that studies have shown that capital punishment have ZERO effect on crime rates? It is not a deterrent. It is barbaric vigilantism. - raz3000, on 10/12/2007, -19/+90I'm surprised Japan has it.
- plat0, on 10/12/2007, -11/+75an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave us all blind and disfigured.
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -7/+55Yes. My best friend was shot to death last year and I hope his killer gets life in prison instead of the death penalty.
- leontes, on 10/12/2007, -9/+56That's part of the reason that we don't allow for vigilante justice. It's pretty good that I wouldn't be the one making that choice. Even though revenge and vegence is understandable, it's barbaric.
- BassCadet, on 10/12/2007, -18/+55@thefutureisours
"If someone murdered a child of yours, would you feel the same way?"
So are you saying that our country's laws should be an extension of emotion rather than reason/logic?
The death penalty is BARBARIC. An "eye for an eye" is nothing but HICK JUSTICE or a bumper sticker on a pickup truck.
And by the way, this is one of the few times I can say that I'm proud to be a Kansan. - thejokell, on 10/12/2007, -16/+52@Bobalobabingbon
It definitely DOES cost more to kill them. Learn the facts:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=108&scid=7 - leontes, on 10/12/2007, -116/+150That any person is executed for *any* reason is an embarassment and a disgrace, in this age. Looking at this map, it does amaze me how we as a world still need to come to abolish this dreadful practice. I hope that more and more turn blue over time.
If we think it necessary to kill those that kill, possibly we should not be placing ourselves as a species in the category that we would think it necessary to kill. - diggboredmerlin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+38Id much rather have a person who killed a loved one of mine rot away in prison then get the luxury of the death penalty.
- demea, on 10/12/2007, -3/+34...looks like the U.S. is keeping pretty good company :|
- afpunk, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33I have told my parents that if I was ever murdered, if they let the prosecutor seek the death penalty then they would be dishonoring everything I stood for. Maybe that's just me.
- garyh84, on 10/12/2007, -34/+63Well... at least there's one good thing about Kansas. I'm proud of my home state. *tear*
- kakwakas, on 10/12/2007, -14/+42You're plat0, not gandh1.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -110/+136if a human ends the life of another human being without just cause, then they have forfeited their right to live and should be removed from the planet. the death penalty is not to scare others into not commiting crimes, it is to rid the world of someone who is willing and able to end the lives of others.
it is an unfortunate thing, but it is the only fair way to deal with it. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+28Half the *entire* world maybe, but look at the WESTERN world.
- titlesaysitall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21But you don't hate me?
- Zalien, on 10/12/2007, -39/+59I really wish in some cases where theres little doubt and/or the crime is pretty vicious (3+ killed) that they'd just execute the person instead of letting them live and drain resources in prison for the rest of their lives.
- dagonweb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21The United States, again in good third world company, as a sore thumb standing out in western civilization.
Capital Punishment is something to be ashamed of. - MurderMystery, on 10/12/2007, -7/+24If any person is wrongfully executed, the whole system should be dismantled.
- xadhominemx, on 10/12/2007, -22/+38Justice, beyond monetary compensation for losses, does not involve itself with the victim or potential victim of a crime. The death penalty, although it may serve the function revenge through the course of its action, deals with dispensing some perpetrater's due to achieve justice not as a means towards some satisfaction of the victim but as an end.
It a society like the one framed by our country's founders, justice is an end. The death penalty, despite its flaws, serves that purpose.
Now, to rebut some claims that undoubtedly will be made in response to this or other similar comments:
1. The death penalty does not serve as a deterrent.
OK, there are a couple problems with this claim. First of all, at least within the US, the death penalty has not in recent times been used in a manner widespread or expeditious enough to evaluate this claim effectively.
Secondly, like I said before, the death penalty's purpose is ultimately to achieve justice and not some direct pragmatic end.
2. Life without parole is a worse penalty than death.
If this was true, then those in prison for life without the possibility of parole would commit suicide or assisted suicide of some form in massive numbers.
Also, those about to receive the death penalty would not seek to have there sentences commuted to life w/o parole like they do. The cases of Stanley Tookie Williams and Clarence Ray Allen come to mind, and it is common to hear about such last ditch efforts by lawyers in the weeks before an upcoming execution.
3. The death penalty has to potential to kill innocent people.
As do many social policies. Even increasing the speed limit from 55-65 causes 20 more fatal accidents per year, the vast majority of the population would support the change (and the majority those who didn't would not for reasons other than safety, such as environmental concerns), and increasing the speed limit would only serve save most of us a few minutes a day, not a more desirable goal like justice.
Of course, I left many arguments off, but I'm willing to address those that I did. - netdroid9, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22Power over life and death, as Leviathan put it, is something the state should never have. It's not a power the people have, it is a power reserved exclusively for the state and it's justice system. You hear it all the time: I was framed! What if it were true? If you were framed for raping and killing a 9-year-old girl, would you want the state to be able to choose whether you lived or died? As far as they know, you're a 100% authentic baby-raping murderer. Chances are you'd be long dead by the time they figured out the truth, and that's presuming they did. Meanwhile, the real criminal's out there living it up while you're a smoldering corpse in some electric heart-attack machine somewhere.
It all comes down to one question: Do you trust the state to be infallible? Do you trust them to always come to the right decision, to always find the innocent innocent and the guilty guilty? Do you trust them to always be just, and to never be biased one way or another? Because when you're talking about life or death, there's no going back. - CrazyNorman, on 10/12/2007, -7/+23When you say use "I don't want my tax dollars keeping them alive in prison" as your reason for the death penalty, than congratulations, you sir, have just put your price on a human life: a small percent of your taxes.
- eklass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16@theexpress:
i think the more important aspect is that many other modern countries (i.e. ALL of europe) have done away with it. demea is emphasizing that our punishment principles are more closely aligned with that of africa and south asia.
i don't know about you, but i'd rather be friendly with britan, spain, france, and italy than ethiopia, sudan, niger, and rwanda - c0d3b0y, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18'Title says it all..."
I hate that description... - shirosamurai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14@raz3000
Not only does Japan have it, but they use hanging to carry it out as well - at least that's one of their options. In fact, four guys on death row were all hung just a few days ago. Despite that, it's not used that often though... last time prior to that that I know if is when they hung the cultist guy that used a sarin bomb in the subway systems. - Sonizel, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15haven't you learned anything from batman?
- ntdesign, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13So long as there is the death penalty, innocent people will be executed for crimes they didn't commit.
- Xeth, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Go Kansas! The ban on the death penalty balances out the school board's stance on evolution.
- typobox43, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@garyh84
I'm pretty sure that map is outdated. I'm from Kansas, myself. The death penalty here had been declared unconstitutional by a court ruling. That's probably what that map reflects. However, over the summer, it was reinstated by a Supreme Court ruling. The map likely hasn't been updated to reflect that. - ricree, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Unless, of course, one doesn't take anyone else's eyes or teeth in the first place.
Serious, though, some things require punishment. Honestly, I don't know whether the death penalty is right or not, but it isn't the open and shut case that most people (on both sides) make it out to be. For one thing, it is pretty much never, at least in the US, "an eye for an eye". In almost all areas where the death penalty is used, it is only used in particularly extreme murders, and even death is not dealing out nearly what was inflicted by the criminal. - quasipalm, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16I would support the death penalty if we had a 100% correct judicial system. Until then, we can't put anyone to death. You can always set someone free if they've been wrongfully convicted; the same obviously can't be said about the death penalty.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Never respond to a crime with a crime.
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Don't forget the sweaty man-love.
- Dominatus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11womfalcs: Are you ***** serious?
Bob: actually, that IS an issue. If you send a person to jail for crimes they didn't commit, new evidence could eventually free them. You can't undo the death penalty. - ponchietto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Nice twisting of logic...
"justifiable self-defense carried out after the fact" alias "revenge"
I don't even try to explain the difference to those who do not see it already :( - macaddct1984, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"Why do we kill people who kill people to prove that killing people is wrong?"
- TheTaoOfBill, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Martin Luther King....Ghandi...Jesus...how many highly influencial people of peace do we need to tell us that it is stronger for a man to choose peace over violence before we as a people get it? Even if some people deserve to die no one has the right to kill them. Eye for and eye tooth for a tooth is cruel and unusal. It is barbaric and most of all it is weak. A society that bases it's justice system on revenge rather then fair justice is weak. The death penalty is outdated. Maybe this war is turning me into a bit of a hippy but I don't believe anyone should be forced by a civilized government to die.
- arg553, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12no it doesn't
- PatrickX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I can't believe people are emphasizing the economics of whether it is more expensive to kill someone or throw them in jail. Can you seriously think money is the most important issue involved in this debate?
- DavidTrom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"The only reason it costs more to execute someone is because the opponents of the death penalty have driven up the cost through layer upon layer of long, drawn out, unnecessary appeals."
Well I don't you know if you can call all the protections and appeal s"unnecessary" considering that even after all that every year people on death row is found to be innocent (DNA evidence, anybody?) - arg553, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10I agree that there are some crimes that deserve death. The only problem I have is that there is yet to be a perfect judicial system and undoubtedly innocent people have been and will continue to be executed as long as death penalties exist.
- ntdesign, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I care about my life because I'm alive. I can't care if I'm dead. I'd rather see someone locked in prison for the rest of their life, then be put to death.
Also, it's more expensive to execute someone then to put them in life in prison. - ponchietto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The whole discussion about cost of life-sentences versus capital punishment is moot.
Do you propose to sentence to death a significant percentage of current jail population?
Maybe a bigger problem is that US has 10x people in jail than the europen countries. - worthawholebean, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9@MephistoX
The state of Kansas did a study on this and found that the median capital case costs $1.26 million, including execution. They also found that the median cost of a non-capital case (where death penalty was possible) to be $740,000, through the end of incarceration.
http://www.kslegislature.org/postaudit/audits_perform/04pa03a.pdf - spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Innocent people have been executed in the past. Screw the financial costs, the death of those innocent people is the price that isn't worth paying.
- wheresmysocks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yet another "map seems to be outdated" comment: as far as I know, we in Minnesota abolished the death penalty in 1911. Our last hanging was in 1906. We don't have anything that reads "no death penalty," but the law does not provide for capital punishment either.
- steveoco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Even Australia which is the butt of all criminal jokes is up to date with the penalty.
- prisonplanetfan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Your Homeland did not give you the Right to Life, why should they have the right to take it?
- quisph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@WhiteRaven
Your argument is self-defeating. If the value of a person's life can be increased or decreased by his actions, then it stands to reason that no matter how worthless a person's life may become, there is always the possibility that it may increase in value in the future. (That is, unless you take that chance away by executing him...) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7You americans, always ready to measure your dick, quantity is god.
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