Atheist and the Death penalty

[Handprint]

And yet, it's inevitable in our "justice" system. The death penalty is not a deterrent to any crime for which it is applied as a punishment nor does it serve any function to rehabilitate the convicted. It is, essentially, a legalized system of revenge and serves no purpose in a just legal system.

Not only is it not a deterrent, but states without the death penalty have lower murder rates than states that have it. The evidence strongly suggests that if you wish to reduce the number of capital crimes in your jurisdiction, you should immediately abolish the death penalty.

I wonder why the rate goes down? I find that really interesting.

[Redbeard The Pink]

While it's true that every conceivable act known to man has been, is, or will be illegal somewhere in the US are people in other countries really better behaved than Americans are?  

The main problem in America seems to be that the nuts who run things have severe cases of the Moses complex.  They think that if they could only get another 100 million laws on the books that everything will be perfect.

America is virtually the only 1st-World country that still uses the death penalty, and our prison population vastly outstrips other developed nations (mostly because our legal system is fucking jacked; many of those people shouldn't be in jail even if they're guilty, let alone the innocents that were failed and/or fucked by the system).


Yeah, I'd honestly say that most Western nations are better behaved than America, and these are just a few of the myriad reasons.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

While it's true that every conceivable act known to man has been, is, or will be illegal somewhere in the US are people in other countries really better behaved than Americans are?  

The main problem in America seems to be that the nuts who run things have severe cases of the Moses complex.  They think that if they could only get another 100 million laws on the books that everything will be perfect.

America is virtually the only 1st-World country that still uses the death penalty, and our prison population vastly outstrips other developed nations (mostly because our legal system is fucking jacked; many of those people shouldn't be in jail even if they're guilty, let alone the innocents that were failed and/or fucked by the system).


Yeah, I'd honestly say that most Western nations are better behaved than America, and these are just a few of the myriad reasons.

OK, the anal retentives who write the laws are psychos.  The cops are thugs.  The prosecutors are scum.  The judges are crooks.  But in a lot of cases it's the dummies who live in your neighborhood that convict the defendants.  In the end it's the people who create and maintain the corrupt justice system because they seldom think for themselves.  They really like to see people suffer and are mostly incapable of showing any kind of mercy.  

If people want weed to be legal then they should simply stop finding weed users guilty.

[ScepticOrganism]

Death penalty = Institutionalized murder

Same function, different name for a barbaric uncivilized behavior.

But consider this little dilemma ( Warning, whats written bellow is quite graphic, and has indeed occurred )

Someone rapes a 5 months old baby countless amounts of times, then proceeds to choke it. The baby does not die, the man frustrated by its resilience, takes a nail and hammers baby's head on the wall.

The man who did this is called Peter Scully. He is currently facing a lifetime in prison.

Should he be executed?

Is he going to nail any babies to the wall from a prison cell?

Probably not. But your question says a lot more about what you think, than my answer. Are you saying "So why worry about it if no one is gonna get hurt by this maniac every again? he's in for a lifetime, and thats that"

Maybe I am overthinking it.

[abaris]

delete

[Cephus]

None of which changes anything that I said, a majority of people (more than 50%) support the death penalty.  Spin it however you want, the facts are still the facts.

So, the majority supports it. Doesn't make it right. The majority supports religion as well.

Doesn't make it wrong either.  Your opinion is just your opinion and apparently, it's one that a minority of people share.

[Cephus]

None of which changes anything that I said, a majority of people (more than 50%) support the death penalty.  Spin it however you want, the facts are still the facts.

More than 50 percent in the USA, since these are only US stats.

Why do people keep pointing that out?  We know that.

[Ravenshire]

Is he going to nail any babies to the wall from a prison cell?

Probably not. But your question says a lot more about what you think, than my answer. Are you saying "So why worry about it if no one is gonna get hurt by this maniac every again? he's in for a lifetime, and thats that"

Maybe I am overthinking it.

(emphasis is mine)

You are. I've stated my objections to the death penalty, but I'll state them again. It's more expensive than life in prison (no, not because of the execution method) and it's not a deterrent to any crime for which it is applied.

[Ravenshire]

So, the majority supports it. Doesn't make it right. The majority supports religion as well.

Doesn't make it wrong either.  Your opinion is just your opinion and apparently, it's one that a minority of people share.

Let me fix that for you...

"it's one that a minority of people in the US share."


Shall we take a look at the world at large?

[Ravenshire]

More than 50 percent in the USA, since these are only US stats.

Why do people keep pointing that out?  We know that.

Because you keep making blanket statements that are only backed up by those US only stats.