On Capital Punishment

Hi mookhor, I have always been opposed to capital punishment, believing as I do that if it is wrong for an individual to take another life, it is equally wrong for the state to do so. Answering violence with more violence just doesn't make sense. Some people still believe that it is a deterrent, but history shows the fallacy of that idea. Many innocent people have been murdered by the state over the years, and even today there are some cases where guilt cannot be proven with certainty although the advent of DNA has helped to solve many crimes. It has however, also shown the innocence of some people who have been imprisoned for twenty years or more. I believe that capital punishment by an means is inhumane and should not be practiced by any civilized nation. Blessings.

With the proper evidence I most definitely believe in capital punishment. I mean what is the point of all the taxpayers having to foot the cost to house clothe and feed some murderer or rapist? I just do not see the point of life imprisonment who really is being punished there? In some cases and if there was some way to make them pay for their own stay in prison then maybe that would be different for those who are not convicted of quite as extreme horrendous crimes.

Personally I am against capital punishment because in killing a person the state lowers itself to the same bestial level as the criminal. Taking a life is murder regardless of who commits it, the individual or the state. As a civilized society we have to be prepared to look after the sick, the mentally ill and the criminals. This may mean we have to house and feed them them for many years. This is the price we have to pay if we want to be "civilized".

It is never an easy thing to take a life, much less legislating it as a final action for crimes. It basically says that the individual to be killed has no more saving grace and the only way to deal with him is by executing him. I have no strong opinion on capital punishment. It might be the "easy" way or it might be a "cruel and unusual way". However it is, I have no opinion on whether it is good or bad.

I do not favor capital punishment. There are very few nations in the world which still practice it, and the ones who do are not ones we want to emulate: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia... Europe views capital punishment as so barbaric that you cannot even join the European Union if your country has it. I realize that is not a major selling point in the U.S., but the fact that the violent crime rate is higher in the U.S. should tell people something. Executing people really does not stop other people from doing it. We also keep people in jail for much longer than most countries do, and our crime rate is still higher. Maybe we really should live up to our religious beliefs and learn how to view people who break the law as folks who should have at least one chance to show they've learned from their experience. The U.S. often forbids convicted felons from voting. That is not how many other countries view things. Wikipedia lists a whole number of country that even allow felons to vote while they are in jail: Denmark, Israel, Japan, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Peru to name a few. People are sometimes denied the right to vote, if they participated in vote fraud. How do we expect people to behave like citizens, have a stake in our society, etc., if we won't even allow them to vote, which is how you express your opinion as a citizen of the U.S. If our vindictive, punitive approach with criminals worked, it would be one thing. However, with 5% of the world's population, we have 25% of the prisoners. In the U.S., one out of every 100 adults is in jail. We have 751 people out of 100,000 in jail. By contrast, the numbers for England, Germany, and Japan, respectively are 151, 88, and 63.(New York Times). Think how much money we are spending punishing people. Maybe we could afford to help our non-prison population if we did not spend so much money keeping people who are not violent in jail. In conclusion, not only should we rethink capital punishment, we should rethink the number of people in jail and the length of time they are there for--in good part because it is not working.

I do not support the capital punishment, by the way did you see how Sadam Husein was hanged, my question is whether it can be subtitited with another punshment, any idea of the punshment to subtitute it.

I don't favour capital punishment mookhor, no. As far as I am concerned, a life behind bars locked away for the term of their natural existence so they may reflect on what they have done is a far greater punishment than execution. I see execution as an easy way out for the criminal to be honest. Personally I would far prefer to be put to sleep by an injection etc than spend the rest of my days in a tiny cage if I was stupid enough to commit a horrible crime that attracted severe punishment.

Good day.. I always think that the punishment should befit the crime. If the crime is heinous and that the perpetrator deserved the capital crime so be it. I mean anyone who committed a crime deserves to suffer the full extent of the law.

If I had to pick one OR the other, I would say "no" to capital punishment. However, my opinion is that child molesters, serial rapists, and serial murderers should get capital punishment. I think child molestation is just the most vile crime. I only use the word "serial" for the other two because I think one should draw the line somewhere.

i don't think anyone is a born criminal.. only the circumstances make a man to do all the things only a devil could have come up with.. there are however some person who are driven by uncontrolled desire or insanity to perform even the foulest of the deeds.. i think that a capital punishment should only be handed out if a person seems unwilling to change his way of life ,,. and keep on returning to he worst means.. after all .. some diseases are just incurable..

i do not agree with capital punishment. i believe in giving chance so the criminal can feel the guilt and leave a normal life. for this the best way is to make the crimal do social service in place like refugee camps where he can feel the importance of human life in its real sense and by doing this he can become a better human being to a much greater extent.