Death Row Drama Gains Star Support

[Hakan]

There is absolute zero statistical evidence that supports the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent to violent crime. Violent criminals never think of the consequences of their actions while committing the crime. Infact, in Canada, when we abolished the death penalty, violence crime actually went down.

It has already been mentioned that killing an inmate is more expensive by a factor of almost 2 as compared to keeping them in prison for life. So there's no economical argument to be made on the death penalty's merit.


Therefore the only arguments I have seen to maintain the death penalty is out of vengeance for the victims. Wow. Good to know we're still living in the middle ages. Not to mention that the death of one innocent person outweights the deaths of all criminals and the sense of gratification for every victim's families.

[AFireInside]

If they have conclusive evidence against someone (like Bernardo) then I have little problem with it.

However I just did a research on wrongful convictions for my law class, and some of the cases I found are just plain scary. A poster above already described one I found. It just seems that in a lot of cases as soon as the police have one suspect thats it, from there they try to prove that, their suspect is guilty, instead of looking at the facts and all possible leads. The main case I used, not only did that happen, but a guy who was at the scene of this murder when it happened went to the police and told them how someone else committed the murder. The police ignored him. Wrong guy in jail for 10 years.

That kind of crap scares me. A lot of the cases, the wronfully accused were arrested based on who they were, or what they looked like. One was actually sentenced to death, eventually that got changed but I dont think he is out of jail yet, and this is in Canada so he was sentenced in the 50's or 60's...

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

yes.

If keeping him alive saved 1 child, would you?

But what if that child grew up to become someone worse than Hitler?

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by AFireInside

If the have inconclusive evidence against someone (like Bernardo) then I have little problem with it.

The problem with that is you are supposed to have incontrovertible evidence if you are going to convict someone for any crime.

There can't be murder (life in prison) and extra-murder (execution).

It's like saying "we know for sure Joe killed the store owner so we are going to execute him, and we aren't quite convinced that Bob killed the cabbie so we'll just lock him up for the rest of his life"..

[CarlW]

Originally Posted by Hakan

It has already been mentioned that killing an inmate is more expensive by a factor of almost 2 as compared to keeping them in prison for life. So there's no economical argument to be made on the death penalty's merit.

Only if you execute them using the method in the US. In other countries (IE. Singapore, Carribean islands) they hang them or shoot them, how much does a rope cost? Or a bullet? Less then lethal injection i'm guessing.

[Tower]

The Hangin' Song from Ren & Stimpy's "Out West"



C'mon everbody! Let's have a hoedown!

Oh, Lord loves a hangin'.
That's why He gave us necks.
It tightens up our vocal cords
And loosens up our pecs.

So if you are a horse theif
And guilty to the bone,
Go ahead and blame a friend
And you won't hang alone.

It may be hard to swaller,
But you'll be three feet taller.
It's a dandy way to entertain your friends.

You say you are a villain,
But can't abide by killin';
Go ahead a steal yourself a horse.

Oh, Lord loves a hangin'.
And so do we, by heck;
So get yerself a lasso
And decorate your neck.

Oh, we is awful ignorant
And uglier 'n sin;
So go ahead 'n cut us down
And hang us all again,

Hangin' that is. Swing a spell...

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by CarlW

Only if you execute them using the method in the US. In other countries (IE. Singapore, Carribean islands) they hang them or shoot them, how much does a rope cost? Or a bullet? Less then lethal injection i'm guessing.

Surprisingly enough it doesn't cost millions of dollars to buy 3 vials of common chemicals.

There must be something else that costs so much.

[CaptainCrunch]

There is absolute zero statistical evidence that supports the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent to violent crime. Violent criminals never think of the consequences of their actions while committing the crime. Infact, in Canada, when we abolished the death penalty, violence crime actually went down.

Thats a pro argument for the death penalty if I've ever seen one, if a criminal dosen't care about the consequences then why keep him around. I'm more in favor of the death penalty for repeat offenders, and extreme crimes personally. And while it might not be a deterant, to say that the death penalty is simply about vengence is incorrect in my mind. There always has to be an ultimate penalty for a horrendous crime.

It has already been mentioned that killing an inmate is more expensive by a factor of almost 2 as compared to keeping them in prison for life. So there's no economical argument to be made on the death penalty's merit.

I'm not sure if you can ever argue economics and justice. The minute that the two collide and economics becomes a prime consideration is the minute that the justice system collapses.

Therefore the only arguments I have seen to maintain the death penalty is out of vengeance for the victims. Wow. Good to know we're still living in the middle ages. Not to mention that the death of one innocent person outweights the deaths of all criminals and the sense of gratification for every victim's families.

Again I don't buy your argument that the death penalty is simply about vengence, if it was we'd let the victims family pull the lever or inject the drugs. I've read storys about families who are not satisfied by the death of an inmate because it dosen't bring the families back, however from a societal view it does give a sense of closure, and a sense that there is a valid form of punishment for a heinous crime. If we wanted a deterance and vengence factor where we as society were view in a middle ages term we would crucify these people publicly and post it on the internet and on T.V., but since we don't see this, I guess there must be some hope for modern society.

Just my two cents.

[AFireInside]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

The problem with that is you are supposed to have incontrovertible evidence if you are going to convict someone for any crime.

There can't be murder (life in prison) and extra-murder (execution).

It's like saying "we know for sure Joe killed the store owner so we are going to execute him, and we aren't quite convinced that Bob killed the cabbie so we'll just lock him up for the rest of his life"..

Unfortunetly as history shows, a lot of the time there isn't incontrovertible evidence, which is why innocent people go to jail. Mainly the reason I don't support the death penalty. Just saying when it comes to people like Bernardo I'd have little problem with them killing him. However in cases where its not as cut and dry I do have a problem with it. I guess I can't have it both ways though, so overall I don't support it.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

There's a 25-year old Australian right now, who's scheduled to be EXECUTED BY HANGING on December 2nd, because he was caught smuggling heroin into Singapore to pay off loan sharks.

That's a horrible story, Austalia and the international courts are fighting to get him clemency but Singapore is not budging and is totally inflexible. Remember the 1994 caning and all the buzz around that? This is a HANGING (cruel, archaic, painful) for a small amount for a first-time drug offender from liberal democratic country!

Give me a break, the guy was a disgusting grug peddler. Anyone who sells drugs really deserves the same fate, except that in "liberal democratic country" we are just to panzy to do anything about it. The laws in countries are clear, if you dont like them, dont go there ir violate them and live with the consequences.

As per tookie, he has never once apologized, but instead he boasted about doing it. Nelly futrado said it best when she said its best to "turn out the lights, turn out the lights". I dont care if he has written books, he wasnt Rodney Kinged, or anything like that.

Also, please dont cut down the death penalty argument because you think the system if flawed. Its either a yay or nay. If its a yay then you do what you can to fix the system and take all possibility of error out.

MYK

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Give me a break, the guy was a disgusting grug peddler. Anyone who sells drugs really deserves the same fate, except that in "liberal democratic country" we are just to panzy to do anything about it.

I agree. I'm sick of this "liberal democratic" bull**** too. We should become more of a "conservative dictatorship" and give up on this pansy-ass human rights crap. Hang 'em high!

Which country should we try to emulate? Iran? China? Saudi Arabia? I think Saudi Arabia is the best fit. At least for us Albertans.

[TheCommodoreAfro]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Give me a break, the guy was a disgusting grug peddler. Anyone who sells drugs really deserves the same fate, except that in "liberal democratic country" we are just to panzy to do anything about it. The laws in countries are clear, if you dont like them, dont go there ir violate them and live with the consequences.

As per tookie, he has never once apologized, but instead he boasted about doing it. Nelly futrado said it best when she said its best to "turn out the lights, turn out the lights". I dont care if he has written books, he wasnt Rodney Kinged, or anything like that.


MYK

Somehow I don't think Nelly Furtado wants her song to help myK make some kind of point in favour of capital punishment.

As for Tookie - I'm not sure what point his death served, now that he's gone I don't feel any safer than I did when he was alive.