I'm 100% against it, especially for the electric chair. Even a picture freaks me out, nobody should have to go trough that, not even the most sadistic killer in the world. It's much worse to just spend your life in a tiny cell with 23 hour lock-up.

Okay...here we go - keep in mind I'm a conservative Christian who lives in Texas (we actually enforce capital punishment down here) and I do believe the Bible supports it (yes, I know that's a very controversial statement)

I actually do believe in the death penalty. Not for everyone....I think there are some people that I would take life in prision (without parole!) over the death penalty....but I think there are definitely some criminals who should get the death penalty.

Let the arguements begin! (And I thought I was controversial about my opinion about Paris Hilton in prison....can't wait to hear comments about this one.) :)

Think about all the unsubs on Criminal Minds.....do you think if they were real, none of them should get the death penalty? Or is your point of view that prison is a worse punishment than death?

Ok. Keep in mind that I am an atheist (DO NOT hate me :P) living in the Netherlands, things here are so normal to me like not being able to have guns, gayrights, same-sex marriage (I'm so MAD that some states and countries STILL DO NOT legalize it :angry: ) and no death penalty etc that it is hard for me to really relate to the American 'way of life'.

I don't believe in heaven or hell or something like that, so for me.. it's when you die... I really don't know how to explain this... You don't have problems anymore, when life in jail would be my 'hell' as to say it in that way. Being locked up alone or with another criminal for the rest of your life and never being able to do anything anymore.

When you get the death penalty, you wait a couple of years and then you get 'murdered' by a injection, or the pff electric chair (even that word scares me, I don't even want to think about it) or the fire peleton (do you write it that way). You're gone, you don't live anymore. That seems like they commit a crime and don't 'really' pay for it,

I believe that people let the Bible control their lives too much, (I'm not talking about terorrists etc. because that can't be called handeling out of 'religion' anymore).

I did my best typing this in English, I didn't really say anything I wanted to say because I can't translate it into English by myself. If you knew Dutch I would give you a lot more arguements.

I saw a documentary about it a week ago and someone said something 'funny'. I think it was 'Europeans believe that we Americans execute many people everyday while drinking soda and eating fastfood :P'

Actually I feel the same way! :) I think more people would agree with you than with me. But one thing I have really liked about this forum is people have been very respectful to others even if they don't agree. It's okay if we don't have the same opinion. I enjoy talking to others about what they believe and why.

Sorry I know no Dutch so I can't argue with you that way. :)

I do believe in God and heaven and hell.....which is scarier in a way. You are just afraid of the pain and dying but when it's over...then it's over. But I believe dying wouldn't be the worst part because I believe people could be facing an eterity of hell. And it's not that I would be in a hurry to get them there - I think punishment ultimiately comes from God, but if you were sentanced to die I think it would make you really start to think about what you believe and if you're ready to die.

Still friends? :)

I think taking a life isn't as much a punishment for the person you kill, but more for the ones that remain. Besides is killing the person not a way of making sure it won't happen again, but more an act of revenge, you lower yourself to the killer by doing so. It's barbaric, and I don't think it should excist if you want to make the world a better place.
I think even if you are a killer, you're a person and by bing that you have the right to live.
I even was against the execution of Saddam Houssein, expecially how he was killed, cause the way of doing it was wrong (we don't live in the dark ages…hanging the guy?), and the fact that his sentence was already given before the trial started (don't get me wrong, I hate the guy as much as you can hate someone you don't know personally…I used to have a friend who had to flee Iraq or his father and possibly he to would have been killed but I'm against unfair and fake trials.)
And I think that spending your life doing nothing is a much more horrible punishment then dying.

Maybe I would feel diffrent about this if it was a friend or a family member that was murdered, but that's why there is a legal system, and not the system: an eye for an eye.

Also is the way that the deathpenaty is used (confess and you get life, otherwise you get the needle) pretty bad, cause how do you really know if the person confesses cause he really did it, or cause he is afraid of dying? What if you find out that someone else did it just after you killed the convicted person? I know there was a case in the netherlands a couple of years back (my father told me about it, he worked on it I think) of a mother who seposedly was killed by her son with a pencil, he convessed on doing so, even though he didn't even get the tread of getting killed if he didn't, but told his father that he didn't do it, the father had money to do a private investigation, who found out that there was no way the son could have killed his mother with that pencil, cause there was no phisycal way of doing that (won't tell you the whole story, gave me the creaps, well I was ony eight when my dad told me the first time…) maybe the guy would have had deathpenalty in the US, he would be sentenced to life here if his dad didn't have money for this :o

Oh and BTW…another atheïst here (I do believe in a soul, don't know what happens with it after dead, don't believe it just disappairs, my parents do, but it just seems unreal that all those people that I love and have died just don't excist anymore…so believe they are somewhere, and that when I talk to them I'm not just talking to myself :P )
Oh and totally for gayrights and gaymarriage! Why the hell should the love between to people of the same sex be any diffrent then the love between a man and a woman! And totally against that people can buy guns legally (in the US…as far as I know, it's illegal here) I mean, your asking for trouble, people have so many fears and stuff in them, they watch tv, here about terroism, are prejudged (even if it is just a little bit, I bet everyone is just a little prejudged somewhere) then you put a gun in the mixture and an unlucky moment of things and you have a dead person. Or you have someone who is seeking for revenge or someone with a violent nature or a four year old kid who happens to find his fathers gun, goes play with it and he or someone else gets killed, ofcourse it's important to be able to protect yourself and your family…take defense classes, it's a hell of a lott safer. I think only people who well work with the police and stuff should have guns (well as long as the people they're trying to get are whearing them) the rest of us should keep it with paint guns used at the game where you should eachother with paint, from which I now have forgotten the name… :rolleyes:
Well I really do talk to much… :unsure:

Off course haha ;)

It's just that I read somewhere that being an atheist in America is the worst thing you can be or something like that ;)

Don't get me wrong, I like America and I loved my vacation there. I would love to live there when I grow up.. but man!! You Americans can sometimes act pretty.. crazy.. when it comes to laws, believes, foreigners (There was this one custom guy who looked like uncle dursley in Harry Potter and he was cranky, rude and mean. THANK YOU I got the nice Chinese looking guy who could actually speak some German :P

It is called Paint Ball! :)

I'm not sure which "America" you are seeing...... <_<

I think political (and religious) views are very split among Americans (and sadly I think we're getting farther and farther apart all the time.) Because the media tends to be so Liberal that is the image that is projected to the world. (I think that's why extreme Muslims hate America so much....but that's a different story) States like New York and California tend to be very Liberal but the mid-west (and states like Texas are much more conservative) But you can always find a conservative in the most liberal city and and very liberal person in the most conservative of states.

I don't think it is revenge....that's why there is a jury. And if you know the person in any way you are not allowed to serve on that jury. Even if you've been in a situation similar to what has happened to the case on trial you will not be on the jury. They do it that way on purpose so personal feelings and motives won't be a factor.

What about the rights of the people who they killed? Did they have the right to live? And when they were killed, was it in a way that was as quick and painless as possible? Think of the terror and pain most of the victims go through........I don't think "eye for eye" that they should die some horrible drawn-out death for revenge. But I do think they lose their rights when they chose to take someone else's life (life in prison or death)

Ofcourse they commited something horrible, something where they should be punished for severly, but I think that lowering to what they have done, by killing them, just isn't the answer. Every person has the right to life untill nature say's it's time, the victims had that right taken from them, that doesn't mean you can take it from there killers I think.
And I also still think that deathpenalty in a way is getting the easy way out, while having the rest of your life to think about what you did is an much more severe punishment.

Ah merci beaucoup! That was the word I was looking for :D

You know what stupid was. When that bastard Saddam Houssein was hanged they showed a clip of the moments before the sentence on the 4 O'clock news in Holland.

That was stupid, what if a 7 year old saw it, it even scared me I didn't watch it. Like when someone's head got cut off in a country they showed it on tv. :blink:

That goes too far for me. <_<

I think facing God is worse.

me too!

I didn't watch that or Saddam's execution. I am very against showing that type of thing on TV or the internet for entertainment.

I understand your arguements and I agree on some of your points to some extent.....but I still believe there are cases where a death sentance is acceptable.

Ok, just to set the background: I guess I'm borderline between Atheism and some religion, probably Catholic, as my Dad is a stric Atheist and my Mum thinks that their maybe something 'out' there. I live in the UK, so pretty much anything goes here, and we don't enforce capital punishments, yet out prisons are like holiday camps-cable tv, a prison shop, reasonable good food, etc etc.

I'm kinda half and half. I voted for 'I believe in the death penalty' as I kinda do, but they must be able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that that prisoner is guilty. I do not believe in executing innocent men/women for a crime they didn't commit, and I do not believe in 'inhumane' executionings, ie, the electric chair.

But the death penalty just seems like such an easy way out, I mean, if a guy kills a child by beating them or whatever, I think he should suffer, but in our jails, prisoners don't suffer.

Two teenagers, about 12/13 I think, abducted and killed a 2 year old boy, Jamie Bulger. The beat him, mutilated him, threw rocks at him, and then left him on a train track to try and hide their crime. Now these teens were realeased and now have whole new lifes in Spain or Portugal or America or somewhere under completly new identities. I don't think that's right, I think they shoudl have suffered the same way that little boy suffered.

My view is really confusing I guess, and when i try and argue my point I tend to muddle people up real bad!

---

They never showed that on the news here, but I did see it on Youtube, and it scared the living daylights (Ok, bad term really, considering the subject!) outta me. I mean, it was so-well, I saw a human being die, it was-ergh! But then I think of all the times my Uncle went out to fight for peace (he's in the RAF) and all the times I prayed at night and cried myself to sleep hoping my Uncle would come home safe, and it's scary, it's like-like my feelings go dead for Saddam, which is pretty frightening really. :confused:

Ergh, i don't know, if you can understand that, then you deserve a medal! :D

I did vote but I didn´t post my opinion, so...

I´m totally against the death sentece. First, I think you can run the risk of sentence to death an innocent. Second, I think no-one has no the right to kill anyone, even if we´re talking about someone guilty (except for self-defense in a life or death situation)

I´m totally convinced about these two premises, so I couldn´t be in favour of the death sentence.

I understood that (I think :) ) especially the part about not really suffering in jail. Yes, they don't have the freedom to go when and where they want but getting free meals and entertainment and not having to work or anything isn't a very severe punishment either. I think they should at least have to sit there with nothing to do to make them think about what they did......or work (make them be test subjects for new medicines or something.....at least then their lives would count for some good.) And so many of them get paroled. It just doesn't make sense to me. Sometimes it seems like the prisoners have more rights than the victims.

Well, that´s something I´ve always thought. I think all the prisoners should work for the State, cause they´re having free roof and meals. I find OK they can study or do some sport, but they should work too, building roads or schools, for example.

I don't believe in God…maybe if I did I would have a diffrent opinion, but still, in the end every human will face God if he truly excists, also if one doesn't get deathpenalty.

I do think that punishments for some criminals (you always have to look at the background of a crime and a criminal if you ask me…) should become more, like having to work for their country's while being in jail, cause getting fed good meals (you can't go malnurish someone, but they shouldn't go out of their way making it good food for prisoners, I only do think some things should be respected, like that if prisoners out of believe don't want to eat some types of meat or no meat at all, there should be an alternative, but that's more because I'm a veggie and the more veggie's in the world the better) you should work for it, and the work should help the people, like having to work building a community center, hospital, school. And if you murder a child or kill someone on a really horrible way I think you should never be outside of prison again (except if you're working to make a school or something like that :rolleyes: )

Yes, but you can not possible do the same things to them. I mean, you can't just throw ro

Yes, but you can not possible do the same things to them. I mean, you can't just throw rocks at a prisoner of put him on the train rail or something.cks at a prisoner of put him on the train rail or something.

I think we found something we all agree on! :D

:D

Well we probably also all agree that they should not broadcast someones execution on the four o'clock news…

Yes! :)

In the interest of peace....I'll refrain from commenting. :)

I always get so angry when it goes about people's lifes. Sorry if I offended someone but I'm still angry.

http://bp1.blogger.com/_cbmAzccbOG8/Rss2T0...h/0819marie.jpg

I'm very impressed with your awareness of things that happen in the world (especially for someone your age....I was completely clueless when I was 17)

I admire your passion about things you believe in.

I think you have a good heart to care about people and justice.

I just don't agree with your point of view and you don't agree with mine so we'll just have to agree to disagree about this one.

I'll leave it at that. :)

..well im for it..here's why well if the judge sentenced you to death pently..then you must of done something bad to get it ...and i think that people need to make absoulty sure the person their convicing did really do it..and if they did then they deserve it ...

i'm against it. There was a case in Victoria and A Man was hanged for raping and kill a twelve year old girl and the other week they found he was innocent. :(

Okay, again with the background to start: I'm not religious, but I'm an agnostic, not an atheist. I think there could be a God out there, but I'm not sold on the story in the bible. I live in Canada where Capital Punishment was outlawed in the 1970s. I'm for the death penalty partly because when I think about the prospect of someone killing someone I love, I want to kill them. Maybe that makes me shallow, not being able to rise above and all that, but I really don't care. I think it's easy to state your viewpoint on either side if you haven't ever had to deal with the issue personally. Hopefully none of us will ever have to, but when tragedies like this occur, people look for answers, for absolutes. There is nothing more absolute than death.

Furthermore, the Canadian prison system is a joke. Karla Homolka, Paul Bernardo's wife and accomplice, who assisted in his rape and murder of two teenage girls, got her LAW DEGREE in prison. She didn't live in a little 8x10 cell, she had her own little cottage. It was like a freaking vacation for her. In Canadian prisons you get to live your life, television and libraries are at your disposal, your education is FREE, meanwhile law-abiding citizens have to pay thousands of dollars for it. And people rarely serve their full terms. We grant paroles like we're giving out candy on Halloween. It's not a punishment.

Some make the argument that killing the person means they don't really pay for it because they don't have to be aware of what they did, since they'll be dead. Well, I think that the killer has taken enough from the victim's family, sentencing is a time for the loved ones to get something their way. They will never be the same, but if getting the bastard that took their child/sibling/parent away from them off the planet will help, then I say the justice system owes them that.

Yes, there is the issue of executing the innocent. And I'll admit, the reason Capital Punishment was outlawed in Canada (and temporarily around the same time in the US, some States never reinstated it) was because of this. That's why I also think it's important to make sure, if you're going to execute, that you've got the right guy. Juries make mistakes, but over the years, particularly with DNA coming about, wrongful convictions are become more scarce. They system isn't perfect yet, and maybe it won't ever be, but this is progress at least.

Also, Brigitte, you mentioned the electric chair being scary. Yeah, I'll admit it makes me uneasy at times, but only two of the US states that still have capital punishment use Old Sparky; Florida and Nebraska. The rest (I believe it's about 38 in total) use lethal injection. So not only is the justice system making strides, but so is the execution system.

But hey, we all have our own views. I'm actually surprised that it's about 50/50 here. Interesting....