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Capital Punishment

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Pyewacket  +  126274 Fri, 12 Aug 05 11:19 AM

“quote user="Athelas D'orion"

For me, I will always support capital punishment for a crime that harm other people's life or betrayed one's country (i.e. murder, rapist, corruptor). As I believe every human valued their life dearly, and most peoples are afraid of death. Therefore, if capital punishment applied, more peoples will think twice before harming other people's life."

Athelas, I find your comment intriguing. Please understand, I don’t mean to pick on you specifically, Athelas, it was just that your comment sounded contradictory and I'm just trying to get some clarification.

You seem to say that you value life, yet you don’t value the life of those who murder. But wouldn’t they be the ones we want to show the most compassion to? I mean, can’t you imagine the depths of hatred and self-loathing one must go to in order to commit such heinous acts? What would cause someone to fall this low? Being poor? Feeling unloved in a dysfunctional family? Being a certain race? Being unable to assimilate into another culture? Being a minority?

Yet, you support capital punishment as a way to further condemn those who cannot even sink any lower. Rather than support further killing, why not support a more compassionate route? Promote a culture of love by supporting education.

Why not support programs that assist the poor? Why not support programs that could help improve family dynamics and curb  spousal and child abuse? Why not teach kids on etiquette? Why not help different races and cultures assimilate and at the same time help them embrace their diversity? Why not provide educational programs for kids in the inner city so they don’t have to join gangs? Why not teach the dangerous of alcoholism and considerate driving behaviours?

By saying that you value life, yet saying that you support capital punishment sounds, to me, a bit more like you value your life and the life of those you love, but you are not willing to extend your compassion to those who could really use it. Why is that?
Pyewacket
Joined on Wed, Jul 13 2005
Northern California, USA
Junior Member 67
"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." -- Henry Miller
Philip  +  126363 Fri, 12 Aug 05 04:48 PM

Just a few thoughts.

Very few people will change their attitudes about capital punishment by something that other people say.  I am ambivalent myself, but I find that as I age, my "broad mind and narrow waist are trading places".

Still, I feel that if the human race has the ability to put people on the moon and sustain life in space for however-many-months they've been there, we should be able to come up with an effective way of dealing with hard-core criminals who commit unspeakable crimes on innocent victims, either by deterrance or by rehabilitation.  I think we've pretty well proven that punishment, alone, does little.

The question of deterrance to future crime is clouded by fact that so many criminals convicted and sentenced to die have the avenues of justice to prolong the process so long that others are not deterred.

I think that if a country or a state officially has the death penalty and does not use it, that becomes a ridiculous situation in its own right. 

If the U.S. were logisitically in the position of applying for membership in the E.U, this issue alone would be enough to keep us out. 

Philip
Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005
Veteran Member 8,604
At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen
Related discussions
Anonymous, 4 yr 58 days ago
i agree with the fact that its the easy way out. The other thing that people forget to consider is that the only people who suffer from capital punishment is the family and loved ones of the accused.i believe that public humiliation is a way that makes people suffer extremely because there confronted by us the public 
Anonymous, 4 yr 54 days ago

I agreee somehow to ur statement but not wholly because did u ever think from the point of view of the victim. Because it is the victim who is suffering both mentally &physically .So to console his/her heart there some stringent actions should be taken.But i am also agnaist of the capital punishment because every human commited mistakes & blunders but it does not mean he should be punished with death sentence. Because it is immoral that if that person commited a crime he should be punished  with some life sentence. 

Anonymous, 4 yr 43 days ago
Rahul, India has prime ministers, not presidents.
Anonymous, 4 yr 26 days ago
 David wrote:
Guest what about those killed in war? Is that justified? Would love to hear your comments.
in my oppinion in war death is justified becouse the peopl that's init are awear what they are doing and know that its a chance there taking that they could be killed .For those who are forced into war its a terribl tragic thing and no body should be put thru it becouse remember the convicts that get capitaly punished are murderours these people arnt there there becouse they are forced!!Big Smile [:D]

YoHf, 3 yr 361 days ago
I'm neither in favour nor against death penalty, but I think it is to be kept as an option...
Anonymous, 3 yr 349 days ago
i dont know much about capital punishment and i also dont know wether i am for or against it, i have a debate to write about this subject and i as i have said dont know wether i am for or against can any of you please say some examples of for and against as this would help me alot thankyou very much for reading plese reply soon.
Sheilav  +  166014 Sun, 04 Dec 05 02:41 PM

I agree with Molly, it is better to have corporal punishment rather than capital punishment.

The people who agree with Capital Punishment would argue that pushing thru with this deters crimes- giving example to criminals or would be criminals not to commit heinious crimes so that death penalty will not be their punishment. Also, it is a means for relatives of victims to finally be satisfied that the perpetrator of the crime is dead. That is, a life for a life. But the criminal if he is really guilty does not feel anything in the few minutes he is executed because death passes on him. Unless he is alive, he will feel the consequences of his action. That is why, corporal punishment is a better recourse than capital punishment. Maybe the relatives can lash the criminal to near death until all their physical energies are exhausted. But is it ever enough? Maybe for some it is not, it is still a life for a life that is why some governments continue with this punishment.

Sheilav
Joined on Thu, Oct 27 2005
New Member 20
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