I have never seen the death penalty as a deterrant to other criminals or would-be criminals. To commit a crime that is worthy of the death penalty, the person, IMO, is beyond the realm of caring what the punishment for his actions may or will be.

When I was a young kid, we had a dog that would chase, maul and kill our chickens. This cost us eggs, meat and there was a chance that the dog would roam to our neighbor farms and do they same thing there. We put the dog down (euthanized him) because we could not find a way to change his habit, unlike housebreaking him or teaching him not to jump up on us. His negatives far outweighed his positives (he was a fun dog to have) and we could not afford financially to allow him the chance to kill more of the meat and eggs that we depended on to put food on our table.

He was not penalized or punished, he was put down because we could not change his behaviour and his behaviour was completely unnacceptable to us as well as our neighbors.

It was never meant as a deterrant to the 2nd dog we had at the same time.

I don't mean to be simplistic, I just think that this story shows why I feel the death penalty is not a punishment, but a ridding from society of those that cannot be rehabilitated and have committed grievous acts.

JDub

My view is i think the same as many. I don't think killing someone is a punishment, for me i would rather die than spend my life in prison. Let's make prisons truly awful places to be, no tv, no soft beds, no seperate bathrooms (give them a bucket). Then anyone convicted of a serious crime, depending on circumstance obviously, should be incarcerated for as long as they deserve. Mass murderers, serial killers, rapists and paedophiles should be given life and left to languish in prison. This is a far better punishment than death in my view.

Let's just make sure that we do give them decent sentences. Oh and we shouldn't put paedophiles and rapists on seperate wings. Throw them in with the normal lot and let them see how it feels, i think someone mentioned this as well.

Originally posted by glastonaut

I agree with most of your points, yet the fact remains the system collapses as soon as the first innocent is executed. I cannot support the death penalty because of this.

And I respect your point. I do have reservations about how the death penalty is used and in which cases. There is always that problem.

I would favor the abolishment of the death penalty only if prisons were turned into medieval dungeons of hell and torment. Like, the cells were in the ground with only a hole at the top with bars over it. scraps of waste food from the guard meals are thrown down in this hole, and the prisoners can either fight for their food or cooperate for it. their choice. No showers. Your bed is a pile of straw. Your toilet is a corner in the cell. Along with 50 other inmates, you have rats and rotting garbage around. No TV. No pictures. No reading material. You are dragged out of the pit for a daily session on the stretch rack, complete with whippings, floggings, and chinese water torture. You are surrounded day and night by screams of agony from your cellmates. There is no medical care for you, so if you get sick, you are screwed. After a certain period of time, you are lifted out of the hole you share with fifty other inmates and given a series of tasks and tests. if you pass them, you get to move up to the next level. You get a cell shared with 25 other inmates. You sleep on cots. You get one shower every two weeks. Your share one toilet amongst you. You get beatings and the stretch rack every other day. On the off says, you are engaged in grueling, brutal, back breaking labor. Your food is stale leftovers from the canteen, but at least they arent scraps. You are entitled to ten minutes of fresh air. You now are entitled to medical care if you screw up and cause problems, you are back in the pit. After a certain period of time, you are given more tests and tasks. If you pass, you are moved up a notch.
The next level is a bit nicer. You now only have 8 inmates to a room. Your beds are still cots. Your daily beatings have been fazed out. Now you spend every day in backbreaking labor. You get one phonecall per month. You are also allowed to recieve mail now. You now have four toilets to each cell. Your food is no longer stale, but the only items on the menu are potatoes, celery, one slice of cheese per meal, and only one serving of meat per day. Youre allowed thirty minutes of fresh air. if you screw up, you go back to the next level. otherwise, after a period of time, you get more tests and tasks, which if you pass, moves you to the next level.
The next level you get the standard two men to a room. You get real bunks. You get three square meals a day. You get an hour of fresh air. One toilet per two people. Now every other day is backbreaking humiliating labor.You are now allowed one newspaper per day. You actually get visitors now. Your off days are spent having the nature of your crimes and the pains they caused hammered into your head by recordings of victims families and other ways you have made yourself a burden on society. You are constantly reminded that there are people out there who have had worse childhoods than you that don't turn into completely worthless losers like you have. You are taught that the only way you will ever get any respect from anyone is to live in a respectful manner. You are eventually given another set of tests and tasks. Pass, you go onto the final stage.
The final stage, you get your own cell with a decent bed. You get three meals plus snacks. You are allowed books and magazines. You get 3 hours of recreation a day. The rest of the day is spent learning a legitimate trade, people skills, and how to be a decent person. You are are given various psychological counciling to help sort out your screwed up head. Finally youre given tests and tasks. if you pass........

You are free to leave. However, if you re-offend, you are thrown back into the bottom pit level, where you will never be allowed to leave for the remainder of your short life.

When this system is in place, then I shall gladly support abolishing the death penalty.