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

[reverendjeremiah]

VOTING INSTRUCTIONS: If you support the death penalty for ANY reason, or for ANY law, then you support the death penalty on this poll. So, for example, if you support the death penalty for murder but not for rape then you would vote "I support it". If you are completely against the death penalty then you vote would vote "I oppose it".

If you post on this discussion, I only ask that you vote in the poll (either before or after discussion) as well so that we can see how this strong atheist community views the death penalty.

I started this thread as the result of a conversation with Ashendant so that we can discuss it more indepth and in topic with the rest of the membership on this wonderful forum.

Thankyou

[KichigaiNeko]

'The Death Penalty'

Can we have a clear definition as to what crimes this penalty will be applied to??

[OnlyNatural]

Yeah, it really depends on the crime... I don't think I could say I totally support it or I totally oppose it. But it's also hard to draw the line, to decide who deserves it and who doesn't. If I hear about a father who kept his children in a dungeon for years and raped them regularly before torturing and killing them... yeah, I think that bastard deserves to die.

But ultimately, I think whether the death penalty is warranted or not must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

[Minimalist]

I'd need a choice marked "support in certain situations."


Having a grandstanding district attorney who to get re-elected by showing voters how "tough" he is on crime would not be one of those situations.

[reverendjeremiah]

I will post here now, but I will edit the original post to mirror it.

If you support the death penalty for ANY reason, or for any law, then you support the death penalty on this poll. So if you support the death penalty for murder, but not for rape, then on this poll you would vote "I support it".

If you are completely against the death penalty, then you vote "I oppose it".

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Min and only natural would vote "I support it" in this situation. Please come back and vote it when you get a chance. Sorry, I thought the question was pretty clear and point blank.

[theVOID]

I support it in the cases of violent repeat offenders or psychologically unstable violent offenders who's continual existence is going to have a great negative impact on society both in terms of the crimes themselves and the cost of incarceration on societies resources.

[reverendjeremiah]

I see alot of posts saying "I support because.., but not because.." but not voting support in the poll. Please add to the poll and lets see those stats build up.

Thankyou for contributing.

[Ubermensch]

Killing people for their crimes doesn't actually solve anything. I'd propose that if they murder someone, they essentially sacrifice a few of their rights. So instead of killing them, just throw them in the gulag.

[thesummerqueen]

I voted for it based on our prison system at the moment. If it changed, perhaps I would change my mind.

[KichigaiNeko]

I agree with SummerQueen..

Why should we keep murderers alive at the expense of society and our hard earned tax $$$

This is my thinking