The Death Penalty - are you for or against it and why?

[Faith No More]

Because DNA does not "prove" anything. It is up to those involved to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And DNA evidence has been known to be misleading before. It doesn't take a genius to misrepresent, contaminate such evidence. Incompetence and laziness can do that on its own.

This is a good point as I had yet to take in consideration of purposeful dishonesty. Recently there was a case of a medical examiner who was proven to have falsified evidence in dozens of cases. I am for the death penalty in theory, but it's application is another matter entirely.

I ask you, FaithNoMore, what is the purpose of punishments like the death penalty in the first place? Is it to reform? Serve as an example? Is it merely to prevent waste? After all, a man who is clearly guilty of great crimes must be worth less, in some form to warrant executing them well after they've been contained, isolated.

It's a form of punishment that makes the statement that if you commit heinous crimes, you pay with your life.

It chills me most of all to think that a human being could be considered a form of "waste", criminal, dissident or otherwise. And it speaks volumes of the humanity a man holds for his fellows when others become "garbage" to him.

It's not that I see them as waste, it's just that I firmly believe that by committing certain crimes against your fellow man, you have shown that you do not respect human life, and you forfeit the right to your own. I have respect for all human life, as long as that respect is mutual. Let me ask you this, are you upset that several Nazi's at Nuremberg were executed? What would you do with someone with such a disregard for basic human rights, and why should they be afforded rights they are unwilling to give to others?

ETA: To me, sustaining someone's life after they have shown all disregard for their fellow humans conveys a message of tolerance society cannot afford.