Views on the Death Penalty? (a poll)

[Ravenshire]

Vehemently against.
More expensive than life in prison.
Doesn't deter crime.
Risk of executing the wrong person.
Retribution seems like a bad thing to have in your moral framework.

I would agree with you that the death penalty is not a deterrent. However if you are a loved one of victim of a murderer, having that perpetrator die often brings closure. That in my opinion is a valid for reason for Capitial Punishment for offenses such as murder.

(emphasis is mine)

I'm calling bullshit.

Edit:
Stanford University psychiatrist David Spiegel believes that the theory that executions provide closure is "naive, unfounded, pop-psychology." Contrary to expectations, Spiegel says, witnessing executions not only fails to provide closure but also often causes symptoms of acute stress. "Witnessing trauma," he says, "is not far removed from experiencing it."

Unless you can some up with something better. The whole "closure" argument is purest bullshit.

[Catholic_Lady]

As a general rule, I think forgiveness brings forth much more long term healing than revenge.

[Ben Davis]

I would agree with you that the death penalty is not a deterrent. However if you are a loved one of victim of a murderer, having that perpetrator die often brings closure. That in my opinion is a valid for reason for Capitial Punishment for offenses such as murder.

Actually, not so often the case. I'm hunting down the figures but I've seen research that shows that loved ones of victims of people who are executed more often don't get closure as a result. Here are some testimony sites (for what they're worth) on both sides of the argument: Death Penalty Information Centre debate.org huff post

In principle, I have an issue on any practice that promotes or perpetuates revenge-thinking so your valid reason for CP is a strong argument against it, for me; people want revenge so we should not give them that opportunity, through law.

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Edit: Just read SnakeOilWarrior's post. That.

[pgrimes15]

Against.

"It's wrong to kill someone so . . . I'm going to kill you "

[Ben Davis]

As a general rule, I think forgiveness brings forth much more long term healing than revenge.

Possibly but I think there are some transgressions which are unforgivable. For example, if someone were to kill my son: I might be satisfied that justice is done, that I've come through the other side of my grief, that I'm taking care of the future well-being of my family, that I'm fully 'healed' from my emotional wounds, I might even understand and sympathise with the reasons why the killer killed my son however I can't imagine that I would ever forgive the killer.

I've not completely thought out a list of such transgressions but amongst them would be perpetration of genocide and systematic abuse of the vulnerable.

[KUSA]

Can someone explain to me what is wrong with revenge?

[Metis]

Depends really, it's a rather black and white question.

In the case of manslaughter or a crime of passion murder in the heat of the moment? No.

In the case of Osama Bin Laden? Absolutely.

It all depends on the context as well as several other variables.

[Aoi Magi]

Against:

1) Life can be a punishment with a chance of atonement, death doesn't provide that chance nor punishment for more than a single moment.
2) Death-penalty is a path of no return.
3) I believe criminals are not born but made, and even for true psychopaths, to me they seem to just be people with mental disorders deserving of treatment.

[Nope]

Intellectually, I do not believe in the death penalty but there is a dark place in me that understands the need to hurt someone who has hurt me. I don't like that part of my personality but it is there.

[loganonekenobi]

To me it's not about punishment but about giving up on getting a person to be a safe part of society. As a human system of course one could argue that once in a while an innocent person dies and for that reason it's hard to back the death penalty. however when you have no doubt that Charles Manson (or someone like that) would be ....BAD for the life of others if set free then yes i'm all for it. It wont deter the real psycopath and maybe those are the ones that should be sent on as it were since they would serve no purpose other than endangering others if they lived.