Should prisoners be given a death priviledge? A death privilegde would be what grants someone right to have assisted suicide by, say, the lethal injection. But what say you?

If I were a prisoner doing time I'd want to exercize my death priviledge. I call it death priviledge since there is no such thing as a death reward for oneself. You can't appreciate a reward if you're dead, you know? Besides, it be doing society a good service since no one wants the so-called scum back on the streets, even since after prison no one wants to hand an x-con a job. And we all know not giving an x-con a job breeds a time of crime again by that x-con.

Come to think of it, I think there should be a death priviledge for the suffering period. And a person knows whether or not they are suffering no matter their mental distress aspect. Certain people finacially suffer... Certain people with handicaps suffer... Certain x-cons suffer when they can't land a job no matter how hard they seek one... Etc. Allow such a death priviledge, I say.

There is a huge difference between the death penalty and a death priviledge I strongly think. The death penalty can't execute the mentally ill since the mentally ill is no one's fault and shouldnt be PUNISHED. But a death priviledge is not punishment, and consented to by the sufferer.


[edit on 13-3-2010 by Tormentations]

I see where you're coming from, but, in the developed Western world suicide is considered a sympton of a mental disorder. We as a society don't believe that suicide is acceptable under any circumstances, and that people who killed themselves are suffering from some psychological dysfunction. We believe that is the only way to explain why someone would want to kill themselves. Therefore, we will never help them do it because this would be facilitating the dysfunctional behavior of someone who is unable to make reasonable descisions for themselves.

I think the point is at least worth discussing though. Our prison systems are a complete disaster, and I'm not entirely convinced that people in general shouldn't have a right to suicide. Although, we do know that in many cases mentally diseased people want to and try to kill themselves, but then if they get better they are often glad that they didn't kill themselves.

It's a tricky issue. Plus, in many cases, if you really want to do it you can. You don't need the government to hand you a needle.

Also, there will be people who claim that suicide is "too good" for some prisoners. These people want the prisoners alive and unhappy for as long as possible. I am of the opinion that this position is quite distasteful.

Your question is hard to answer. Mainly because we want to protect the truly mentally unsound from making a discision like suicide, because they are not thinking rationally and the effects of their discision are perminent. It's hard to figure out who these "truly" mentally unsound people are, and who are the people who in their minds have given it a lot of thought and decided to end it all. Most brain and behavioral doctors and scientists will tell you that if you want to kill yourself, and are prepared to act on this desire, then that automatically means you are mentally unsound.

I'm not sure. I guess the first question would be, "Are there any people who are in their right minds and who have rationally decided to kill themselves?" If the answer is no, then we cannot provide the right to suicide. If the answer is yes, the next question is, "How can we tell these people from the people who have arrived at the same descision while mentally unsound?"

I think it's such a tricky issue that it is likely to go unaddressed by any governmental institution, at least for now.

Perhaps we should trial this on paedophiles.

They say they love children, therefore they might like to make children safer by taking leave of this life.

I think it is ridiculous that ine cannot choose to end their own life. How can psychologist sit behind a desk and preach to us. the claim that desire to end your life and the willingness to act upon it automatically makes you mentally unsound is ridiculous.

In my opinion, if you are declared mentally sound, and then rationally determine that the cons of life out weigh the pros, then you should be able to end your life. plain and simple.

the only right that every living organism has is the right to end that life. If we cannot exercise that right we are truly enslaved.

I think a death priviledge for prisoners would bring down the number of those who would have a shoot out with the cops that know they'll rather die by cop than go to prison.

Just a good reason to have it.

I mean if I know I'm looking at, say, 25 years in prison, and got a loaded gun, I might as well have a shoot out with the cops that have come to arrest me. Yes, and try to go out by cop if cant excape. But! If I knew that there in prison I'd be given a death priviledge I would not even bother to have a shoot out with the cops who I know I cant excape from. In turn a death priviledge will, in most cases, keep cops from having to be shot by someone that will rather die than go do plenty of time in prison.

[edit on 13-3-2010 by Tormentations]

I'm a liberal...

I think that everybody should be able to do whatever they want, so long as they aren't hurting anybody else.

I'm all for assisted suicide, let these people who aren't really helping out society but sucking the life out of it end it the way they see fit.

Do one better, charge them for it and we'll fix the economy in no time.

~Keeper

I wish prisons would take a survey out on all kinds of prisoners (the incoming and ones already asituated in prison), to see the number of them all for prisoners to have a death privilegde.

I wonder what the results would be...


[edit on 13-3-2010 by Tormentations]

Originally posted by Ozzy Mandias
I think it is ridiculous that ine cannot choose to end their own life. How can psychologist sit behind a desk and preach to us. the claim that desire to end your life and the willingness to act upon it automatically makes you mentally unsound is ridiculous.

In my opinion, if you are declared mentally sound, and then rationally determine that the cons of life out weigh the pros, then you should be able to end your life. plain and simple.

the only right that every living organism has is the right to end that life. If we cannot exercise that right we are truly enslaved.

Right on!

You basically hit the nail on the head.