The Death Penalty, page 4

Originally posted by The Fifth Column
It is working! The criminal is dead which is the ultimate PUNISHMENT!
Lets reiterate.

Capital PUNISHMENT = Dead criminal = SUCCESS.
Capital DETTERANT = Dead criminal = debatable either way.
Capital REHABILITATION = Dead Criminal = oops.

So to conclude:
Deterance should not factor into sentencing.
Punishment is #1 concern of criminal justice.
Rehabilitation MAY be considered AFTER and ONLY after the criminal has been punished.

Final thought, only personal morality deters a criminal from the WILL to commit crime.
Of course an armed populace deters burglars etc etc, but thats another debate.

NO, it's not working! In fact, it never has worked, and has been shown time and time again to make no difference. The only difference is that in having it in use, we are Justifying Murder under certain conditions such as Group Hatred and/or Criminal Punishment, and then giving the 'OK' to a Flawed System(Legal System) within Society to carry it out. Look at the facts:

~117 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. 78 for 'All Crimes', 15 for 'All but Military Crimes' and 24 retain it legally but haven't used it for atleast 10 years and do not plan to.

~78 other countries retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which actually execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller.

~In 2002, 81 per cent of all known executions took place in China, Iran and the USA. In China at least 1,060 people were executed, but the true figure was believed to be much higher. At least 113 executions were carried out in Iran. 71 people were executed in the USA.

~8 countries since 1990 are known to have executed prisoners who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime. The country which has carried out the greatest number of known executions of child offenders is the USA (19 since 1990). Amnesty International recorded two executions of child offenders in 2003: one in China, and one in the USA.

~In Canada, the homicide rate per 100,000 population fell from a peak of 3.09 in 1975, (the year before the abolition of the death penalty for murder), to 2.41 in 1980, and since then it has declined further. In 2002, 26 years after abolition, the homicide rate was 1.85 per 100,000 population, 40 per cent lower than in 1975.

~Since 1973, 113 prisoners have been released from death row in the USA after evidence emerged of their innocence of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. Some had come close to execution after spending many years under sentence of death. Recurring features in their cases include prosecutorial or police misconduct; the use of unreliable witness testimony, physical evidence, or confessions; and inadequate defence representation.

~65 prisoners were executed in the USA in 2003, bringing the year-end total to 885 executed since the use of the death penalty was resumed in 1977. The 900th execution was carried out on 3 March 2004.

~Over 3,500 prisoners were under sentence of death as of 1 January 2004.

~38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in law. The death penalty is also provided under US federal military and civilian law.

~It is incorrect to assume that people who commit such serious crimes as murder do so after rationally calculating the consequences. Often murders are committed in moments when emotion overcomes reason or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Some people who commit violent crime are highly unstable or mentally ill. Moreover, those who do commit premeditated serious crimes may decide to proceed despite the risks in the belief that they will not be caught. The key to deterrence in such cases is to increase the likelihood of detection, arrest and conviction.

~An execution cannot be used to condemn killing. Such an act by the state is the mirror image of the criminal's willingness to use physical violence against a victim. Additionally, all criminal justice systems are vulnerable to discrimination and error. No system is or could conceivably be capable of deciding fairly, consistently and infallibly who should live and who should die. Expediency, discretionary decisions and prevailing public opinion may influence the proceedings from the initial arrest to the last-minute decision on clemency.

This and more can be found at web.amnesty.org...

Homicides from 1950-2000: (Source: FBI-Crime Reports)
Year / per 100k pop. / Approx. #
1950 / 4.6 / 7,020
1955 / 4.1 / 6,850
1960 / 5.1 / 9,110
1965 / 5.1 / 9,960
1970 / 7.9 / 16,000
1975 / 9.6 / 20,510
1980 / 10.2 / 23,040
1985 / 7.9 / 18,980
1990 / 9.4 / 23,440
1995 / 8.2 / 21,610
2000 / 5.5 / 15,517

This plus more info can be found here: www.ojp.usdoj.gov...

Does it seem to be working to you??? If it was really working these numbers would be going down. Notice especially from 1975 to 1980 which was when the supreme court ReInstated it. I guess nobody heard the announcement, then or now. That or 'It Doesn't Change Anything".

Executions by year: 1608-2000

Executions by year: 1976-2003

Here are some more FACTS and DATA on the Subject:
~The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the South repeatedly has the highest murder rate. In 1999, it was the only region with a murder rate above the national rate. The South accounts for 80% of executions. The Northeast, which has less than 1% of all executions in the U.S., has the lowest murder rate.

~States Without the Death Penalty Have Better Record on Homicide Rates
A new survey by the New York Times found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty. The Times reports that ten of the twelve states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national average, whereas half of the states with the death penalty have homicide rates above. During the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48% - 101% higher than in states without the death penalty. "I think Michigan made a wise decision 150 years ago," said the state's governor, John Engler, a Republican, referring to the state's abolition of the death penalty in 1846. "We're pretty proud of the fact that we don't have the death penalty." (New York Times, 9/22/00)

Death Penalty vs. Non-Death Penalty State Comparisons 1990-2000

Lot's more info and charts: www.deathpenaltyinfo.org...

Do you still think it's working??? Because it doesn't. More and more people are waking up to the fact that it's not working, which is exactly what research has shown from various countries and organizations.

Killing People that Kill People isn't going to accomplish anything other than KILLING PEOPLE! Why is this so difficult to understand?
The ends do not always Justify the means.
Two wrongs do not make a right.
The Death Penalty is only adding Fuel to the Fire.