Capital punishment seems to me to be a fairly crap idea. It seems foolhardy to dispense any sort of justice that can’t be at least partially reversed.
That said, I can see why some societies choose to have a death penalty. It is, as they themselves say, one fucker of a deterrent. And I can even see why some of those countries impose it for rape, or armed robbery, or spitting in public. If you believe those things are wrong, why not impose the death penalty? Why not sacrifice one person every so often in return for the happiness of millions? I can see where they’re going with that.
What I cannot understand is the way the death penalty exists in America. Deterrent my fat ass. If you’re sentenced to death in America it really just means twenty years of buggering around waiting for appeals and counter-appeals. The worst part of the death penalty in the US is the sex.
If the Americans are set on having capital punishment, at least make it a deterrent. This means actually enacting sentences, and it means public beheadings. Why not turn it into a primetime show? Popular television celebrities could each suggest an interesting method of beheading, and then the public could phone in their votes. Straight after the 8:45pm advertisement break, the assembled millions will get to watch a convicted criminal being beheaded by a plastic model of Nancy Reagan, fired across a football field by a large ceremonial cannon, lit by the winner of Fame Academy. Doesn’t she look great?
Totally agree. Get it done, and let’s all get on with our lives at much less tax-payers expense.
Pete.
Well, I’ve always been torn on this. The better half of me–that wants to be as liberal and European as possible–just wants to agree that it is a crap idea. The other half of me thinks that some things are so horrific and so appalling that death is justice. Maybe that is a primitive lobe of my brain, but I have to tell you I was pleased to know Obama and I share that view. That was our first bonding experience after Hillary lost the primary. 🙂 I think you lose your Human Rights when you rape and kill and with DNA testing now, it seems as if we won’t have cases of innocent folks being killed by the state. 🙁 Ugly topic, but good conversation.
Now here is something we totally agree on! Though against the death penalty due to the theorised average of 4 out of 10 inmates on death row being actually innocent of the crimes for which they will be put to death (that is not to say they have not committed other crimes which may also warrant the death penalty under US law, but have simply not been convicted of such crimes), I can at least rationally see that if they are going to do it, at least do it right. For example, death in the public spaces like in a town centre for one– beheading is a time honoured favourite and I am sure works much better as a deterrent than the sterilised approach to lethal injection- who does that deter if only a handful of people get to see it? Typically the audience of the lethal injection or gas chamber execution in the US is primarily made up of the victims family, a few members of the press and the family of the accused– not in my opinion a great outreach of deterrence in my opinion.
I think its simply down to America being a punitive culture– they are not interested so much in deterrence, but in punishing ‘wrong-doers’ of their once fine country. An idea which we can observe in the fairly small time in which the US has existed, a mere 221 years of American history found in most history books paints the very deeply troubled culture of ‘spare the rod, spoil the child’ attitude of the protestants settlers of the New World. I argue that this attitude still permeates the American ethos today. Its too bad really that a nation with so much potential could get it all so very wrong many times over, thus why many Americans choose to leave and never look back. Their loss really.
In short, there are people who deserve to have their lives forfeit, but there is no society yet fit to make that judgment.
I’m against it – and the way America keeps you hanging about is horrendous – a cruel and unusual punishment if ever I saw one, to be on ‘death row’ for years with umpteen last minute cancellations…..you must have tons of last meals….
The American death penalty is actually a form of economic darwinism, if you have insufficient funds you die to free up resources for those who do.
This has nothing to do with innocence or guilt.
( how many rich people get the penalty? look it up )
Naomi, death row is where these losers-of-the-game are allowed to be a revenue source long enough to make society feel less guilt about it.
I would describe myself as a liberal. I’m also for the death penalty…in a different form. Agreed in that as it currently stands, it’s not much of a deterrent.
I think part of the problem is that imprisoning people, and keeping death row inmates alive for as long as possible, is a very profitable enterprise in the US. @Daniel: Even inmates who don’t have much in the way of funds often live long enough to die natural deaths while in the pipeline.