For those against the death penalty

Very Busty

Debates

20 Oct 21

Very Busty

Joined: 29 May 21
Moves: 305

20 Oct 21

-3

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/10/20/parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz-pleads-guilty-2018-school-massacre/8535354002/

The Parkland shooter is facing the death penalty. Is there any reason why premeditated murder of children should not get the death penalty?

Gertrude

santa cruz, ca.

Joined: 19 Jul 13
Moves: 376505

20 Oct 21

for a child killer life in prison is worse than death
I wish each a long life

bunnyknight

bunny knight

planet Earth

Joined: 12 Dec 13
Moves: 2917

20 Oct 21

-2

It depends.
If that shooter was simply hunting terrorists in order to spread freedom and democracy, then he is free to kill as many children as he wants, and comfortably retire with a huge pension.

sh76

Civis Americanus Sum

New York

Joined: 26 Dec 07
Moves: 17585

20 Oct 21

-1

He deserves it, but it's probably best for society to not have it. It just doesn't seem to help much and the risk of executing an innocent person outweighs whatever slight deterrent effect it may have.

Contenchess

Contentious

Joined: 01 Sep 21
Moves: 14125

20 Oct 21

-1

Life in prison is worse than death.

Everyone dies so ask yourself what is worse...

Dying now or spending up to 50 years in prison and then dying?

He will obviously be in maximum security the whole time or until they think he is too old to try an escape. Even then medium security still sucks.

If he is in federal custody it could only take 3 years to execute him. It's the state prisons that take decades to fulfill the death penalty.

I'm not against the death penalty but death is an escape.

jimm619

Joined: 27 Sep 06
Moves: 251103

21 Oct 21

It cost much, much more taxpayer
money to execute someone...
Wealthy murderers don't get executed.
Since 1976, 2,153 death row inmates have been been factually
proven innocent, most by DNA evidence.
https://www.ncadp.org/pages/innocence
Prison life ain't easy for murderers,
especially rape murders and child murders.

shavixmir

Lord

Sewers of Holland

Joined: 31 Jan 04
Moves: 89784

21 Oct 21

-1

Morally. It is unacceptable to sit by and watch someone be killed. Or to actively kill someone. You can’t claim it is wrong to be a killer and then kill someone.

Christianity. “You’ve heard an eye for an eye, but I tell you to turn the other cheek.”
- Jesus -

Fundamental. You should never give the State the power to kill its citizens. The State serves its citizens and has the obligation to protect them. Never extend that power beyond imprisonment.

Philisophical. You never have 100% proof that someone actually did the deed. Killing them makes it rather difficult to reverse the decision when new information comes to light. You only have to look, historically, at the numbers to see this is an actual problem.

Karma. Killing someone actually dents one’s core. Take an extreme example: walk out the house with a brick and murder the neighbour’s cat. Smash its skull in and watch it twitch, then throw the body in a lake.
That act dents you in a way that killing for food doesn’t.
The death penalty is a set situation and thw fibres of the human body experience it more like the cat situation than a hunting expedition.
The difference being: you stumble upon someone trying to rape a kid and in your anger you accidentally kill the bastard… generally fine.
But, if you capture the bastard and can send him to prison, to sit and watch him be murdered… it is different.

Compassion. Everyone does something for a reason. Empathy is what makes us likable. That we cannot accept certain behaviour within a society is a given. It is a good thing to seek security, but revenge isn’t a desirable trait. It makes one raw and nasty. Try to feel and understand the other. Imprisonment is harsh. Why go further?

Statistical. Countries which carry the death penalty (and physical punishment like cutting off the hands of thieves) generally have more violent crime and abuse in the home.

Science and research. Why did he do it? What motivated him. What could have stopped him at what time? What went wrong. What can we learn from him to avert such things from happening in the future?

So, to sum it up, even though every fibre in your body feels that this individual deserves death for his heinous crimes, it is better for you and society to not go down that road.

jimm619

Joined: 27 Sep 06
Moves: 251103

21 Oct 21

Right on, Shav

Zahlanzi

Joined: 04 Feb 05
Moves: 29132

21 Oct 21

Yes.

Because he is an outlier. Most times we don't know beyond any shred of doubt that the accused is actually guilty. There have been numerous death sentences commuted because of new evidence. Sadly there have also been numerous executed people exonerated when it was too late.

Death is final. Life in prison isn't.

This is just one of the reasons why the death penalty should be abolished.
It's cheaper to put someone in jail for life than on death row. There is no chance for rehabilitation. There is no bringing back the victims, we're just exacting revenge on the murderer.

AverageJoe1

Catch the Train 47!

Lake Como

Joined: 27 Jul 10
Moves: 54588

21 Oct 21

-1

OK. But if it is proven, maybe with videos, behind a shadow of a doubt, that Dahmer cut off the arms of the little boys before he killed them and ate their livers, would that be reason enough to kill Dahmer.?
A simple question.

Zahlanzi

Joined: 04 Feb 05
Moves: 29132

21 Oct 21

No. We want the law to say "we don't kill fellow human beings". Executing Dahmer would just say "I decided he deserves to die" and then you just allow someone else down the line to say "this one deserves to die" and this one and that one. Based on what. If you kill two people you get life in jail but if you eat them after you kill them you get the death penalty. If you don't show sufficient remorse? If you get a more (or less) lenient prosecutor?

We, the ones against the death penalty, would rather have Ted Bundy or Dahmer or whomever live his life in prison than have an innocent man executed because evidence to exonerate him was found too late. If no law is perfect and exceptions exist, let a Dahmer-like be the murderer who gets to live than an innocent man get to die.

EintaluJ

PhD

Tallinn

Joined: 08 Oct 21
Moves: 2518

21 Oct 21

-1

@Very-Busty

One of the reasons against the death penalty is that it is essentially irreversible. You cannot give the life back and say: "Sorry, we made a mistake. You are not guilty." Studies with DNA analysis have shown that in the U.S., at least 5000 innocent people have been executed. However, they are not executing at once. It takes years to wait for the execution. But I disagree with those ideologists who are absolutely against the death penalty. Most of them are themselves living in an area that is safe. Perhaps the same people would demand the death penalty if confronting the life realities in some highly criminal areas. Thus, I let the possibility open that in some countries the death penalty might be justified.

mwmiller

RHP Member No.16

Joined: 25 Feb 01
Moves: 104474

21 Oct 21

Humans have been killing each other since they were invented.
I have seen no evidence that it will be changing any time soon.

Zahlanzi

Joined: 04 Feb 05
Moves: 29132

21 Oct 21

-1

It's already changing. More than 75 countries have decided the death penalty is not a civilized or even practical manner to deal with crime.

AverageJoe1

Catch the Train 47!

Lake Como

Joined: 27 Jul 10
Moves: 54588

21 Oct 21

-1

Well said. At least there should be special circumstances that a person be executed if there is no question as to his crime, which calls for ejection from society, from life.