Agree or disagree

[JonBonJovi]

They need to bring back capital punishment...I mean there is always complaints about the prison system being overcrowded etc. Just kill the serial criminals and those who commit violent acts against others.Problem solved all those people costing us tax payers when we shouldn't be paying for them to get and education and a job...a cushy little bed with tv etc at our expense...KILL THEM! I say this is the answer to all our problems!

 

[Mark]

Then god forbid you should ever be accused of a murder you haven't done and not be able to afford a decent defence

 

[Icarus]

Yeah I agree. Some crims just dont deserve to live.

 

[Spiff]

This was going to be my only post on the matter because I didn't want to get involved in an argument on this, but I've changed my mind. Anyway, my points are:

* Capital punishment solves nothing. The parties who are executed are not punished IMO. They're not paying for the sins at all. I don't believe good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell.

* There are still too many cases of people being convicted for crimes they didn't commit.

* Killing someone solves nothing. It's a proven fact that capital punishment is NOT a deterrent.

So, I'm voting for "disagree".

 

[phlogiston]

Disagree.

I also believe that some people don't deserve to live, however I'd like to see a hundred nasty people live than one innocent person die.

 

[Mark]

You hippy.

 

[spawn]

When the evidence is overwhelming like in rape cases with dna and things like the Martin Bryant shootings, I say kill them. Its not meant to be a deterrant as such, its just getting rid of the shit, same way we flush the toilet after we are done.

People against capital punishment are always happy to say no against it until something bad happens to them, you wouldnt be so eager to save lives if yours or someone you loved was threatened believe me

F**k them, scum like that just takes up space, those pack rapists that were recently jailed here (maybe some of the peopl not in Sydney wont know about it) should have just been shot, they are the lowest form of scum on the planet.

Anyway, im done

 

[dreamwatch]

Then god forbid you should ever be accused of a murder you haven't done and not be able to afford a decent defence

Exactly. Only in a very few cases can you be 100% sure of guilt. The death penalty solves nothing. The prison system would not be stretched beyond breaking point if we dealt with criminality in a more efficient manner. A better judicial system that evenly deals out punishments would certainly help, but as a society we need to focus our efforts closer to home - get 'em while their young and all that. And let's not forget that most prisoners who are on Death Row remain there for anywhere between 5 and 10 years, whilst appealing time and time again against their convictions, at huge expense to the tax payer. So it's not exactly a quick fix anyway. I truly believe that any society that is happy to to use the death penalty has massive problems - you only have to look at the rather small list of countries that use execution as a punishment for proof of this.

 

[Spiff]

Isn't America the only western civilization that uses capital punishment? I rest my case.

 

[spawn]

Hands up who wouldnt mind a rapist who has been in jail for 20 years living next door to them when they get out? How about a peadophile next door while your kids play in the back yard? Or perhaps a violent murderer who got out on parole for good behaviour after only 15 years?

Kill em all as a band once said

 

[phlogiston]

That's the bit that I have trouble resolving with myself. They've done their time, they've theoretically learned their lesson. They deserve a second chance. Only not in my neighbourhood.

 

[spawn]

That actually brings up another point phloggy, is their time even proportionate to the crime? A rapist can ruin someones life completely, and a murderer can take away someones mother/husband or whoever, why should they be allowed to have a second chance?

"People" (and I use the term in its loosest sense) who do those crimes I mentioned in my last post cant be rehabilitated and put back into the community, where would they go?

No one would want them anywhere near their home (and quite rightly). As far as im concerned if you do those things I mentioned you forfeit the right to be part of the human race. Its nothing to do with deterring other criminals,just get rid of them, there is no place in society in any way, shape or form for them.

 

[Wrathchild]

I agree with Xena on this one. If you take a life without good reason (ie defending yourself or others), you forfeit your own right to live.

If I ruled the world, the justice system would work. People who go to prison would understand that they're in there for a damn good reason, and *not* to be kept in boarding school-like conditions at the tax payer's expense. If you commit a crime against society, you don't deserve to be treated as a member of it.

Also, I'd tow away the cars of people who park in disabled zones without a permit, and slap on-the-spot fines on every couple who nauseates me by snogging and cuddling in public. Get a room, people!

W

 

[phlogiston]

Here's something to think about. Ronald Ryan (i.e. the last man hanged in Australia) didn't do the crime he was hanged for. He's since been given a full pardon. I'm not real sure he appreciated his new-found freedom.

 

[phlogiston]

I may have just lied about the pardoning bit, as I can't find any evidence to back me up on that point. Although there is plenty to say the he was in all probability innocent.

 

[spawn]

Its ok, I get your point, you dont need the evidence

When the overwhelming evidence suggests that the rapist or murderer is guilty, then I have no problem with them being killed. Theres plenty of cases that I have seen in the last year alone where I think the criminals should just be shot or something.

 

[phlogiston]

Like the people who don't stay on their own side of the seat on trains?

 

[spawn]

No, I wouldnt just kill them. Torture. Then death. At my hands so they can see the anger in my eyes before I crush the very life out of th... Nevermind.

 

[Spiff]

Right-wing conservative nut: "You killed someone. Killing is BAD. Now we kill you."

As a nice person, I believe that all life is sacred. I'm about as Christian in some of my beliefs as you can get without being a Christian, and as I believe all life is sacred I therefore think that execution is evil and wrong. Who are we to say that someone deserves to die?

What about crimes of passion? What if someone's kid was molested and his father murdered the molestor? That guy is now guilty of murder, so should he be executed? What if someone walks in on a cheating spouse and shoots them in the heat of the moment? He or she isn't necessarily a bad person but push came to shove and blood was shed. Should that person, who is probably normally a very good, law-abiding person, be put to death?

 

[spawn]

Ahh, but... Should that person be allowed out of jail when they could very well do the same thing when they find their next girlfriend in bed with someone else? Explain to the parents of the previous victim how it was simply a heat of the moment thing and that he should be let out after a time.