[Lickszz]

I recently been looking at the statistics of capital punishment in American and it got me thinking about how many people would think it's a good idea to have it.

Any thoughts?

[Mo]

Yes Lickszz I do for certain crimes. With DNA technology now it is possible to prove possitively that someone has commited a certain crime. That is of course assuming a trustworthy police force......and we all know that there aren't any bent coppers

As far as I can see that would be the only stumbling block. There are some people who this world could well do without why should we waste good money keeping them in prison when evidence suggests that the biggest majority of them continue to offend on release. As for peodophiles give me the injection and I'd be happy to administer it myself

[halevan]

Capital punishment will have to be brought back as the law today is encouraging murder because there is no detterent. The murdering thugs don't care who they kill or maim knowing they will not be hurt.

Lets face it, in any society you have certain people who are more like animals than human being's and if there is no punishment will force their will on other's, whether it be rape, murder, robbery, mugging, if they want what you have they will take it.

In times gone by, you didn't get repeat offender's like today because they were taken out of society and murderer's hung. The human animal can be just like the beast of the jungle and will kill without remorse.

[Viper_GTSR]

Do you agree with capital punishment or not?

Another of my questions lol...
Its for school work though so can you just post your opinion and vote in the poll.

[muddycoffee]

No Just look at the American Penal system where poor uneducated Black men are unable to defend themselves. You will inevitably get innocents executed. If you were to wrongly execute one innocent person in for every 999 guilty ones it's not worth it.

And if we had Capital pun thease days in uk, all the lawyers would become millionaires and the legal system would go bankrupt, it's much cheaper to imprison for life.

[Viper_GTSR]

thats the kind of thing i want
Cheers MuddyCoffee

[Mo]

Originally posted by muddycoffee
No Just look at the American Penal system where poor uneducated Black men are unable to defend themselves. You will inevitably get innocents executed. If you were to wrongly execute one innocent person in for every 999 guilty ones it's not worth it.

And if we had Capital pun thease days in uk, all the lawyers would become millionaires and the legal system would go bankrupt, it's much cheaper to imprison for life.

Is it effective to imprison criminals though? Surely the experience of imprisonment should have the effect of stopping the criminal reoffending otherwise you have wasted time and money locking them up.

Capital punishment should be made use of for murder, rape and peodophilia where dna evidence proves that a particular person has carried out a crime.

[Yodameister]

Before you could be certain someone has comitted a rape the law on rape needs changing.

Rape cases are almost never a matter of proving that a sexual act took place - hence DNA evidence would only very rarely be conclusive.

The crux of almost all rape cases is whether it was consensual sex or not, not whether the act happened or not.

[Cyclone]

you assume several things there;

1) that there is no possibility of reform for someone committing those crimes.
2) that executing someone is cheaper than lifetime imprisonment
3) that 100% certainty is possible in any conviction

I disagree with all 3 points and have voted that capital punishment should not be used.

[JoeP]

I voted No because we have a dreadful habit of getting the wrong person for a crime.

Also, you need to apprehend someone to hang them - if an armed robber has already shot someone, I'd say they're more likely to be literally hung for a sheep than a lamb, as the saying goes, and shoot their way out of possible arrest.

Joe

[Siân]

Personally I'm not in favour - Don't know if you've already heard of Clive Stafford Smith but thought you might find this helpful :

Clive Stafford Smith

Google search on Stafford Smith

[Snook]

It's expensive, it doesn't stop crime, it turns the whole country into murderers, and you could be killing innocent people.

As someone else said, just look at America. It doesn't stop people killing, it is stupidly expensive because of all the appeals that you have to go through, and the major cause of death on death row is old age.

It isn't something a civilized nation does.

[Mo]

Originally posted by Snook
, it doesn't stop crime,

and prison does?

[Snook]

Originally posted by Mo
and prison does?

Yeah, good argument for killing people that one.

[Yodameister]

Originally posted by Mo
and prison does?

and your point? you seem to be using the fact that capital punishment is no better than prison as an argument for it.

Surely you would agree that all other things being equal killing someone is worse than not killing someone?

[Mo]

Originally posted by Yodameister
and your point? you seem to be using the fact that capital punishment is no better than prison as an argument for it.

Surely you would agree that all other things being equal killing someone is worse than not killing someone?

Not at all.

Even you must see that if the rate of reoffending is high then what has been the point of locking somebody up for a length of time? If they come out and do the same, or worse again the exercise has been totally pointless and the offender may as well not have been locked up in the first place. How can you support a system that locks scum of the earth peodophiles up for afew months then lets them out to continue their abuse of children.

With supporters like you lot, hardened criminals have very little to fear.

[Snook]

Originally posted by Mo
Not at all.

Even you must see that if the rate of reoffending is high then what has been the point of locking somebody up for a length of time? If they come out and do the same, or worse again the exercise has been totally pointless and the offender may as well not have been locked up in the first place. How can you support a system that locks scum of the earth peodophiles up for afew months then lets them out to continue their abuse of children.

With supporters like you lot, hardened criminals have very little to fear.

What is the re-offending rate for murder? I was under the impression that it was very very low...?

[Yodameister]

So I am a supporter of hardened criminals because I dare to voice the opinion that killing people should be avoided wherever possible.

I really do find it quite offensive that you are characterising my opinion in that way.

[Snook]

Originally posted by Yodameister
So I am a supporter of hardened criminals because I dare to voice the opinion that killing people should be avoided wherever possible.

I really do find it quite offensive that you are characterising my opinion in that way.

I think it's because some people think like this... 'He thinks killing people (even criminals) is wrong so he must think we should leave the doors of the prisons open and let criminals run free raping and stealing as they like!'

Soon after they start planning to build a safe room and buy a shotgun.

[Yodameister]

Anyway, back on the subject. I am not 100% against Capital Punishment.

The only time I would allow it however is in the case of "Incitement to Genocide" so the people I would have seen killed would have been Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot and probably only about 20 or so people over the last century.

These would obviously be tried under international law and not by the national courts.

I am not in favour of capital punishment for any other crime, be it rape, sexual assault of children, murder.

If that means in ayone's opinion I am a "friend to hardened criminals" then so be it. You are wrong if you think that I am.