Atheist and the Death penalty

[Handprint]

I believe there are some people that shouldn't be living and that contribute nothing good to society.

Serial Killers for example.

But are you in favour of the death penalty?

Yes. I am. Sorry for not making that clear. Although I do acknowledge that other parties have made it difficult to get the drugs necessary for lethal injection and that doctors refuse to administer it anymore. If only we could just shove people into a room of nitrogen and have them die that way, that'd be ideal I think. I hear it's painless.

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I am vehemently against it. Rehabilitation should be the primary goal if at all possible.

The state killing someone is a very final end and something I am not comfortable with.

The sad truth is though that we do an abysmal job of rehabilitating here in the good old U S of A.

[strawdawg]

Going by your chart we are not keeping very good company. Countries like Iran, North Korea, Yemen. Not good.

[Handprint]

" The method would likely consist of a gas mask that covers the head and neck, which would be filled with pure nitrogen from a nearby canister. That nitrogen would displace the oxygen, leading to death by oxygen deprivation, says Solomon Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins Medical School who is not involved in the Oklahoma bill.

The method’s supporters cite accidental deaths that were reportedly peaceful — such as divers who took in too much nitrogen and pilots whose oxygen levels fell too low — as evidence of the chemical’s efficacy. Nitrogen hypoxia has also been recommended by some advocates of euthanasia in places without so-called right to die laws. The gas is also relatively cheap and abundant, decreasing concerns about supply problems.

“Execution via nitrogen hypoxia is a painless form of capital punishment that is simple to administer, doesn’t depend upon the aid of the medical community, and is not subject to the supply constraints we are faced with when using the current three-drug cocktail protocol,” State Rep. Mike Christian, who wrote the House bill authorizing nitrogen gas, said in an e-mail."

http://time.com/3749879/nitrogen-gas-exe...injection/

[Cyberman]

Setting aside my built-in aversion to killing anybody or anything, I see no practical value in teaching someone a lesson they'll never remember.

[Longhorn]

" The method would likely consist of a gas mask that covers the head and neck, which would be filled with pure nitrogen from a nearby canister. That nitrogen would displace the oxygen, leading to death by oxygen deprivation, says Solomon Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins Medical School who is not involved in the Oklahoma bill.

The method’s supporters cite accidental deaths that were reportedly peaceful — such as divers who took in too much nitrogen and pilots whose oxygen levels fell too low — as evidence of the chemical’s efficacy. Nitrogen hypoxia has also been recommended by some advocates of euthanasia in places without so-called right to die laws. The gas is also relatively cheap and abundant, decreasing concerns about supply problems.

“Execution via nitrogen hypoxia is a painless form of capital punishment that is simple to administer, doesn’t depend upon the aid of the medical community, and is not subject to the supply constraints we are faced with when using the current three-drug cocktail protocol,” State Rep. Mike Christian, who wrote the House bill authorizing nitrogen gas, said in an e-mail."

http://time.com/3749879/nitrogen-gas-exe...injection/

So because they die peacefully it's ok to kill them?

[Handprint]

" The method would likely consist of a gas mask that covers the head and neck, which would be filled with pure nitrogen from a nearby canister. That nitrogen would displace the oxygen, leading to death by oxygen deprivation, says Solomon Snyder, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins Medical School who is not involved in the Oklahoma bill.

The method’s supporters cite accidental deaths that were reportedly peaceful — such as divers who took in too much nitrogen and pilots whose oxygen levels fell too low — as evidence of the chemical’s efficacy. Nitrogen hypoxia has also been recommended by some advocates of euthanasia in places without so-called right to die laws. The gas is also relatively cheap and abundant, decreasing concerns about supply problems.

“Execution via nitrogen hypoxia is a painless form of capital punishment that is simple to administer, doesn’t depend upon the aid of the medical community, and is not subject to the supply constraints we are faced with when using the current three-drug cocktail protocol,” State Rep. Mike Christian, who wrote the House bill authorizing nitrogen gas, said in an e-mail."

http://time.com/3749879/nitrogen-gas-exe...injection/

So because they die peacefully it's ok to kill them?

It's okay for them to die, and I think they should die, period.

You guys are speaking in abstract concepts here. As in, the abstract concept of the death penalty as an institution, while I am thinking in specifics. Of how these murderers treated their victims and their psychology in terms of how they view other people generally and are repeat offenders that only dole out suffering to their victim's families and their community at large. Or their murders were so egregious and horrible, that they obtained the death penalty as a sentence.

They deserve death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Sleeper

[Longhorn]

They deserve death.

And that makes it ok to kill them?

[Handprint]

They deserve death.

And that makes it ok to kill them?

Yes. 

Is it okay to disagree with you?

[Minimalist]

Going by your chart we are not keeping very good company. Countries like Iran, North Korea, Yemen. Not good.

Sobering to think we are less civilized than Algeria and South Africa.

[Bad Wolf]

The functionalist side of me says: murders and rapists and the sort are drains on society, they are dangerous and they cost money and resources to keep alive and locked up. But I seem to remember hearing that the death penality actually cost more to carry out than the average lifetime in prison. But surely a bullet to the head or the guillotine would be just as effective and a lot cheaper? I don't think that would be more cruel than lethal injections, if more medieval, but if the aim is to reduce stress leading up to the execution and to take the life as painlessly as possible I think they are just as effective as lethal injections. Handing out the death penalty more liberally would help with prison overcrowding I would think but then that reduces jobs, less men to guard means less guards. And there is always a risk when trying to rehabilitate someone. It's not an exact science and everyone who approves the release of say, a 'rehabilitated' rapist, puts their necks on the line, what if they go out and rape someone else? Not saying that it's not worth trying rehabilitation.

And then another side of me says, the death penalty isn't really a punishment for the criminal. Life behind bars is a punishment, but I think the death penalty punishes the criminals loved ones more than them. But.....watching a loved one rot in prison must be difficult too? So would it be worse to let the criminal live out their life in prison, much to the distress of their loved ones, or to end their lives and their 'suffering'?

I am really conflicted and confused about the issue and I'm not sure if either perspectives are exactly what I think about the death penalty.