Is Capital Punishment ever justified?

Is Capital Punishment Ever Justified?

  • Yes

    Votes: 39 354.5%
  • No

    Votes: 21 190.9%

  • Total voters
    11
Quote from chasinfla:

im still doing my homework on the number, so bear with me.

is it 'rampant?' I guess you'd think so if it were your child.

i think the website cites cases of dysfunction in general in the juvenile justice system locally. she gets calls from people all over the country who've had similar experiences.

two things going on here -- minors being executed and mistreatment in the juvenile justice system. children on suicide watch ignored til found dead (this seems to be a recurring problem); children beaten up and lacking medical attention (beaten by others, beaten by guards). a 14 yo girl given life w/o parole because her companion killed a cab driver (and she had nothing at all to do with it). things of this nature.

Minors being executed - still in doubt, and if it did indeed occur, I am very curious as to the nature of the crime. If in Malvo's league, I have no sympathy at all.
 
this does seem to clarify and i guess i should have found this out prior: sentenced to death as minors, executed after lengthy appeals processes, at an adult age.

I said 'execution of minors' when the issue at hand is 'death penalty for juveniles.' I apoligize for the lack of clarification.

a little bit more subtle, but the point is, as children, they were sentenced to adult sentences. It would be tantamount to giving a child on a tricycle a traffic ticket (the analogy seems to belittle the gravity of the truth).

here is an email from my friend:

The most recent juvenile to be executed in the US was Napoleon Beazley. We met his parents, Ireland and Rena. Their story is gut wrenching.

Napoleon was a star athlete, honors student, etc. in highschool. Then, at age 17 he was convicted of murder, in Texas, and sentenced to death. In 2002, after 8 years of appeals...during which time, Napoleon was a model prisoner and provided spiritual support to other prisoners...Napoleon was executed. There are currently, 80 people on death row who were juveniles when they were convicted.

For more information, contact Deborah Clark dclark@justicepolicy.org at the Justice Policy Institute in Washington, DC. This group is mobilizing support to abolish the death penalty for juveniles in the US as well as abolish the US practice of "Transferring" juveniles to adult for the sole purpose of criminal prosecution.
 
Quote from MondoTrader:

As for the death penalty in general, I think that a true life sentence with absolutely no chance for parole would be better and possibly even cheaper.

And give the prisoners jobs that contribute to society why they're working on their next appeal. Something like road cleanup would be appropriate. In fact, you could even have the state turn a profit if you employed enough prisoners. Why not have them make shirts instead of lifting weights and watching FoxNews all day.
 
Quote from ElCubano:



So you would not execute Malvo (the sniper)??? I believe he is 17....

Make him work too... he's a healthy kid. More can be gained from having a productive prisoner than a dead killer.
 
Quote from picknclick:



Make him work too... he's a healthy kid. More can be gained from having a productive prisoner than a dead killer.

On the basis of your productivity argument, its completely untrue and wrong.

It simply costs more to house and board those types of prisoners. You can easily have someone on the outside do whatever they do on the inside for minimum wage.

So, no, from that viewpoint, more is not gained from having a "productive" prisoner.
 
Quote from chasinfla:

this does seem to clarify and i guess i should have found this out prior: sentenced to death as minors, executed after lengthy appeals processes, at an adult age.

I said 'execution of minors' when the issue at hand is 'death penalty for juveniles.' I apoligize for the lack of clarification.

a little bit more subtle, but the point is, as children, they were sentenced to adult sentences. It would be tantamount to giving a child on a tricycle a traffic ticket (the analogy seems to belittle the gravity of the truth).

here is an email from my friend:

Let's get the facts straight here. Beazley was a few months shy of 18 when he committed murder. He was the senior-class president, honor student, blah, blah, blah who put a gun to the head of a 63-year-old man and pulled the trigger.

Along with his two hoodlum friends, Beazley confronted John Luttig and his wife, Bobbie, in their own driveway in 1994. Beazley wanted their Mercedes-Benz, so he shot them.
(He had previously told his classmates that he soon expected to be driving a Mercedes.)

He then walked into a puddle of Mr. Luttig's blood and shot him a second time directly in the head. He rifled through the dead man's pants pocket for the car keys and took the Mercedes. Mrs. Luttig survived by playing dead.

Beazley crashed the Mercedes a few blocks away.

So because he wanted to joy-ride in a Mercedes, Beazley coldheartedly killed a man who owned one and tried to kill his wife for the privilege.

Are we supposed to feel sympathy for Beazley because he was class president? Because he was an honors student? Because he was a star athlete? Because he was 17 at the time?

Please.......

Hardly analogous to getting a traffic ticket for riding a tricycle.

He got what he deserved. End of story.
 
Quote from DisciplinedHedg:



On the basis of your productivity argument, its completely untrue and wrong.

It simply costs more to house and board those types of prisoners. You can easily have someone on the outside do whatever they do on the inside for minimum wage.

So, no, from that viewpoint, more is not gained from having a "productive" prisoner.

Oh well... kill him then. But you have to agree that the cost of housing criminals is way too high when prisoners can't pay for their own way.

And as for the overall question, most would rather have 0 innocents die than a million guilty with 1 innocent... especially if you're the one innocent That's why we have to find a way to reform the system. Just look at the recent Illinois example.
 
Quote from picknclick:

And as for the overall question, most would rather have 0 innocents die than a million guilty with 1 innocent... especially if you're the one innocent That's why we have to find a way to reform the system. Just look at the recent Illinois example.

Please elaborate on this Illinois example.
 
considering the times we are in, I would like to mention that capital punishment is justfied for TRAITORS in every country in every time throughout history.
 
Quote from MondoTrader:

considering the times we are in, I would like to mention that capital punishment is justfied for TRAITORS in every country in every time throughout history.

Oh boy.......
 
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