Death Penalty

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Max Polun on January 7, 2010 at 2:42pm

I don't think you can just throw the first study out, though it's true that it isn't the same as confessing to a murder. It's much harder to do a controlled study of that though, ethics concerns and the like :-)

So you basically Agree, however, that confession and eyewitness testimony, though considered the gold standard legally, should be inferior to physical evidence, right?

Anyways, I should come out with my full opinion on the death penalty: In theory it could be acceptable (though I don't see what's wrong with life in prison), but in the justice system as it currently (and probably will forever) exists, there is too much chance of an execution of an innocent person. For me to be comfortable with the death penalty, the rate of executing the wrong person would have to be way under 1% I don't think good statistics exist, but I suspect that the rate is much higher right now, closer to 5%. 1 in 20 people executed being innocent is unacceptable, though that brings up the point at what level is it acceptable? I don't know. Since life in prison exists as an equally viable option for keeping violent criminals of the streets, I'd rather just stick to that for the foreseeable future.

Permalink Reply by Aiden on January 7, 2010 at 2:57pm

So you basically Agree, however, that confession and eyewitness testimony, though considered the gold standard legally, should be inferior to physical evidence, right?

Of course.

Permalink Reply by Robert on August 13, 2010 at 12:54am

People confess to crimes they did not commit all the time. It happens, pretty much, every time there is a high-profile murder.
Perhaps we should kill everyone who confesses?

Permalink Reply by Chris Crenshaw on January 25, 2010 at 9:11pm

A few points here. In the U.K. I think high treason still carrys a death penalty. By hanging if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway I'm kinda on the fence although I wouldnt use it as Aiden would, I think its cheaper too kill a mass murder then 2 spend taxes on keepin em in jail. Take Charles Manson evidence is there so I dont see a problem in cases like that even though he didnt pull the trigger he was the driving force. But that said alot of people have been sentenced to death unwarrented and if they where put to death wouldnt that be murder in its own right? Should the judge and jury feel bad? Or be injected themselves? As they casued the death of an innonce person?(No but it leads to interesting conculsions).
DNA evidence is helping that alot and we will just have to see where that takes us.

On the physical evidence vs eyewitness testimony are any of you aware of the test done by Professor Daniel Simmons? Its pretty funny really...

Permalink Reply by Robert on April 24, 2010 at 5:56am

Murdering a murderer (including enabling/supporting) just makes you one too.

Permalink Reply by Aiden on April 24, 2010 at 4:56pm

A man brutally rapes and murders a woman. A jury finds the man guilty. The man is sentenced to death and is eventually purged from existence. This makes us just as bad as him? I don't think so.

Permalink Reply by Susan Stanko on April 24, 2010 at 9:07pm

Only if the State rapes him and then kills him.

Permalink Reply by Aiden on April 24, 2010 at 9:29pm

If it weren't already considered "cruel and unusual punishment", I'd support that too.

Permalink Reply by Robert on April 28, 2010 at 1:32pm

And murder isn't cruel or unusual? Sick.

Permalink Reply by Aiden on April 28, 2010 at 2:28pm

Not when it's justified for the greater good.

Permalink Reply by Robert on April 28, 2010 at 5:25pm

Wow... justified murder. I guess you have the ability to discern who should live and who should die?
Please O omnipotent one, enlighten me on how you come to such infallible knowledge.

Permalink Reply by Aiden on April 28, 2010 at 8:14pm

You may not agree with my view, but there's no need for you to be such an asshole about it. Personally, if someone I knew was murdered, I wouldn't want the killer kept alive in prison for the rest of their natural life, I would want them put to death.

But since you ask how I come to discern who should live and who should die, it's a rather simple concept:
Who should live? The innocent.
Who should die? The guilty. If you rape and/or murder, you are not fit for society and must be purged.

Of course mistakes are made in convictions (the West Memphis 3, for example), which is why our justice system is in dire need of reform. No one ever claimed it was infallible, but I would invite you to do better.

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