The Death Penalty - Inspired by Scott Peterson thread..

[caitycaity]

Is the death penalty an appropriate sentence when someone is convicted on ONLY circumstantial evidence (he said, she said, this looks suspicious) - or should there be CONCRETE evidence, such as indisputable DNA, eyewitnesses, etc.?

i don't know why anyone would think the dp was ok if there wasn't concrete evidence.

as for me, it's not big secret that i am opposed to the death penalty pretty much no matter what.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by KarenC
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=167

The link above sites research that shows that there is no reduction in the murder rate in states that actively apply capital punishment. Some studies actually show an increase in the murder rate following executions.

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Can we at least agree that once a convicted murderer is put to death HE has been "deterred" from killing again?

Had the killer I mentioned in my previous post been put to death, a young woman would be home with her small children and husband now.. Simply "jailing" him did NOT prevent him from killing again..

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by dennis99ss
welcome to the new debate board?

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Why thank you!

 

[KarenC]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
I'm sure now that they've "cleared the backlog," they'll be able to ferret out new wrongful convictions in a timely fashion.

[Sorry. I'm feeling particularly ornery today.]

That's okay, I'm ornery too. I have a problem with my tax dollars being used to kill people who didn't commit the crimes they were convicted of. It makes me feel like I'm a party to it, and I find that distasteful. When Governor Ryan commuted all the sentences of the prisoners on death row, he indicated that he believed Illinois likely had executed the innocent.

For many of the 18 who have been exonerated it was a matter of technology maturing to the point to prove their innocence. For them, thank goodness there was a backlog.

I don't think we have much of a backlog now, though. As far as I remember, no one has been sentenced to death in Illinois since death row was emptied on January 10, 2003.

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by C.Ann
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Can we at least agree that once a convicted murderer is put to death HE has been "deterred" from killing again?

Had the killer I mentioned in my previous post been put to death, a young woman would be home with her small children and husband now.. Simply "jailing" him did NOT prevent him from killing again..

This is where our justice system falls short. It is amazing to me how a murderer would EVER be allowed out of prison after killing someone. A person convicted of a "white collar" type crime many times actually gets a longer sentence than a person that murders someone!

The death penalty costs us so much money granting numerous appeals, that it actually costs us more money to execute a murderer than locking him/her up and throwing away the key!

I honestly think that in the Scott Peterson case the best punishment would be to lock him up forever in a cell with photos of his wife in life, in death and their unborn son's body so he would have to look at them everyday for the rest of his life!

 

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by KarenC
When Governor Ryan commuted all the sentences of the prisoners on death row, he indicated that he believed Illinois likely had executed the innocent.

But what about the ones who were *guilty as all get out,* and lawfully sentenced? If I lived in Illinois, I would have been TORQUED by that little chess move.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by cynsaun
This is where our justice system falls short. It is amazing to me how a murderer would EVER be allowed out of prison after killing someone. A person convicted of a "white collar" type crime many times actually gets a longer sentence than a person that murders someone!

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Just to clarify - in case you misunderstood what I was saying - he killed this woman while he was still in jail..

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by C.Ann
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Just to clarify - in case you misunderstood what I was saying - he killed this woman while he was still in jail..

How? Was she a visitor or a guard?

 

[Broken8ball]

One main reason the death penalty is not a deterrent is that we have sanitized the entire criminal justice process. People used to be flogged, sent to the stocks, and hung in front of the community. These actions reinforced the sense of community and reinforced the harshness of the punishment.

Today, it may take 20 years for someone convicted and sentanced to death to actually die. All that time that the rest of us are footing the bill for their stay in jail.

The death penalty SHOULD be harsh and cruel. These perpetrators do not deserve any sympathy from the rest of us, they are animals who should be put to death inthe most horrrific way possible. It should be televised and held live in public.

IMO, we need to make many changes to our punishment system. A time limit needs to be set for appeals. 3 years after conviction should be the maximum time it takes before sentance is imposed. The trial should be started within 6 months of the arrest. Punishment for crimes of murder, rape, child abuse, and terrorism should be swift and harsh. Additionally, anyone given a sentance that lasts past their life expectancy should also be summarily given the death penalty. Why do we need old folks sitting in prison where they are housed, feed, and provided medical care on my tax dollars? They should be given a choice - pay your own way or die. We do these things and we'll see a reduction in prision costs and a reduction in violent crime.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by cynsaun
How? Was she a visitor or a guard?

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She was a guard.. I can't remember all of the details - it was quite a few years ago - but I'm thinking maybe they were out in the "yard" for their daily exercise.. If I remember correctly though, her body was later found in a dumpster on the jail grounds with his "signature" bite marks all over her (something he had done to his prior victims and was indisputable evidence due to the crooked and broken conditions of his teeth)..

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by C.Ann
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She was a guard.. I can't remember all of the details - it was quite a few years ago - but I'm thinking maybe they were out in the "yard" for their daily exercise.. If I remember correctly though, her body was later found in a dumpster on the jail grounds with his "signature" bite marks all over her (something he had done to his prior victims and was indisputable evidence due to the crooked and broken conditions of his teeth)..

This is so sickening! I agree with one of the last posts that referred to changing our punishment system! I am not completely against the death penalty, but I don't think that laying someone down on a table, adding a drip to their arm and letting them go to sleep scares these monsters! Maybe we should look at the "eye for an eye" punishment theory, and actually follow through on it!

We need to stop being so concerend about these prisoners "civil rights." They gave up their rights when they decided to brutally murder another indivdual, thereby taking away that person's civil rights!

 

[Aimeedyan]

I do not and can not support the death penalty in any case... so evidence or no evidence doesn't matter much to my stance.

 

[C.Ann]

Here is a link to an article regarding the murder I spoke of..

http://www.aim.org/media_monitor_print/420_0_2_0/

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To those who feel that death sentences should be converted to life sentences instead, may I ask just how "many" times one person should be allowed to commit murder - and how "many" victims there need to be before it IS acceptable?

 

[caitycaity]

To those who feel that death sentences should be converted to life sentences instead, may I ask just how "many" times one person should be allowed to commit murder - and how "many" victims there need to be before it IS acceptable?

it's pretty simple to me. two wrongs don't make a right. the state putting someone to death is *never* acceptable to me.

 

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by caitycaity
it's pretty simple to me. two wrongs don't make a right. the state putting someone to death is *never* acceptable to me.

Well, how about this then. We take the completely incorrigible, and put them in a huge (bulletproofed) room together with a bunch of M16's. Several birds, one stone?

 

[Pete's Mom]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
Well, how about this then. We take the completely incorrigible, and put them in a huge (bulletproofed) room together with a bunch of M16's. Several birds, one stone?

Works for me.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by caitycaity
it's pretty simple to me. two wrongs don't make a right. the state putting someone to death is *never* acceptable to me.

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Okay - if that's your viewpoint you are certainly entitled to it..

But I have to ask - if some slick lawyer comes along and manages to get a multiple violent murderer out of jail on some technicality, you would have no problem with this multiple murderer moving in next-door to you?

And you don't have a problem with maximum security prisons cropping up on every corner - next to your schools and churches - right next door to you? We don't even have enough room left for single-home dwellings - where are all of the additional prisons that are currently needed - and the additional ones that will be needed to accomodate prisoners languishing in jail for life sentences if the death penalty is totally abolished - going to be located?

 

[Maleficent13]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
Well, how about this then. We take the completely incorrigible, and put them in a huge (bulletproofed) room together with a bunch of M16's. Several birds, one stone?

I'm anti-death penalty, but I have to say, I think I might like this option.

 

[KarenC]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
But what about the ones who were *guilty as all get out,* and lawfully sentenced? If I lived in Illinois, I would have been TORQUED by that little chess move.

They are still in jail and will be until they die. While some people were unhappy with the decision when it was made, there doesn't seem to be an uproar anymore. Overall I think people were genuinely horrified by how broken the system was (is?). I noticed it generated a lot of honest discussion about the death penalty (like the event in my church).

Governor Ryan knew he was at the end of his political life. He was indicted after he left office for a license for bribes scandal that occured while he was secretary of state. But knowing he didn't have to run for re-election, he did what he thought was the right thing to do. Prior to becoming governor, he was in favor of the death penalty. When it became his job to decide to give the lethal injection, he found it wasn't so easy.

 

[MHopkins2]

I will be more than happy to take over that job. Route the calls to my cell phone - it's always on!