Death Penalty (Yes...I'm Going There!)

Yes, I am for it but what bothers me most is how LONG it takes to do it! Maybe this is harsh, but if they are sentenced to death then they need to be dead within a week, not 20+ years. End of story...

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I'm a liberal, but believe in the death penalty. Part of it is that it seems fair to me for the horrible crime committed, but also that it saves money in the long run on caring for an aging inmate (and I don't care about being insensitive to murderers). Would rather spend the money on education and healthcare to regular citizens.

ETA: If it costs too much to implement the death penalty, we need to change how we're administering it. I'm not picky in how they're eliminated. :)

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Yes. I am a supporter of the death penalty. If it was enacted more often some people may THINK before they commit a heinous crime...damn - I could be killed for this - not just oh yeah - I'll get room and board, 3 square meals a day and access to education, library, gym...yeah - hhhmmm...but then again - most criminals don't THINK before they commit a crime.

No, IT DOES NOT COST MORE to execute them than to house them for life...the costs in execution is because they have the 10 year mandatory wait as well as the appeals process - so THAT is the expense of the death penalty as well as the fact that have are housed differently than other inmates...THAT is the cost. The execution is simple...

I think all child molesters and child killers need to be executed. period. there is NO rehabilitation and I don't think their lives are worth anything near saving.

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Yes, when there is VERY solid evidence.
But I wish we could just do it the old fashioned (and cheaper) way of hanging or shooting them.......IMO a "painless" death is far more than some of these people deserve.

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Yes I support it...Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer, Belle Gunness, Ted Bundy...why pay to support them and feed them 3 meals a day when other American people are starving.

I also agree with Luck
"No I don't want to see an innocent person executed. However, if the evidence beyond a reaonable doubt proves guilt then yep I am for it!"

As for the cost..a bullet is cheap and they need to reduce the length of time it takes, convicted...dead by the end of the week.

Could I pull the trigger...no

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I would love to see the documentation where it is proven to cost more to execute someone than it does to house and feed them for 50 or 60 years, because frankly I don't believe it for a second.

Oh, and yes I support it. Sometimes there is just no such thing as rehabilitation. Plus a bunch of lifers in gen pop just makes things more dangerous for everyone, because why behave when you have nothing to lose?

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Yes I am but im a little pysco about it. I think the life should be taken the way the loser took it. You reap what you sew and I think it should apply to death row inmates too.

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I wasn't a supporter of the death penalty. Then I lived in Gainesville, FL during the Fall 1990 "Gainesville Ripper" serial killings.

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predato...

I fit the profile of the victims...it took over a year to catch the murderer and then 16 years to put him to death. Yes, he deserved to die and yes, I would have flipped the switch. I've never recovered from the incident myself. One of my friend's girlfriends was one of the victims. I've been paying for an alarm system, gated communties, etc ever since... There is no place for "people" like this...

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I am a conservative and I am against the death penalty.

Since 1987 in Illinois, 18 people who were on death row were exonerated. If they hadn't been, that means that 18 people innocent of those crimes would have been killed -- essentially by me because I am a taxpayer.

There is absolutely no way the death penalty can be administered without errors. It is for just that reason that I am completely against it.

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I do believe in the death penalty. I think the way it is done in our country is appalling. They deserve a quick and speedy death, not sitting around for decades before they are executed. I think that if it were done properly, as laid out in scripture, it would be a deterant to other would-be criminals. I'm glad to read that most all of the posters so far are in favor of the death penalty. One thing that always confuses me is how many liberal people are against it. However, they are for abortion. To me, that means that they are okay with a guilty person being allowed to live, but an innocent baby is allowed to be murdered. That makes no sense to me. I know a lot of emotionalism comes into play with it, but when you boil it down, that's what you get. Hopefully, most ladies here don't feel that way.

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SO, 98% of all climate scientists can be wrong about global climate change, BUT our court system is always right?? So right that we claim the right to take a person's life based on a verdict by this system? Please read about the numbers of verdicts that have been overturned based on further evidence...

BTW - neither of my first two statements are true...

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Yes.. I am for the death penalty. Why shouldn't they die if they have hurt someone(s) so horribly bad that their lives have changed?

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In theory, I could support capital punishment. But in reality, unless we can be 100% sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the person is guilty, then no, I can't support it. The way the system is set up, the public defender's office is so under-funded, and the DA's office is well-funded - these two facts lead me to believe that one side has a big advantage over the other, and that innocent people may be sentenced to death. I have a good friend who is a public defender, and she readily admits that even in capital punishment cases, her workload is so huge that she can't adequately defend the defendants she represents. That being the case, I have a hard time supporting the death penalty. But as I said, in cases where we are 100% sure of the defendant's guilt, then yes, I do think there are crimes where the death penalty is warranted.

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Murderers, rapists, child molesters, crazies, theives, etc., are NOT people. They are animals. You cannot "fix" a crazy animal. You put it down. Put it out of its misery and protect the normal, productive adults and children who might potentially become its victims.

These criminals are not victims of circumstance. Those who were incarcerated erroneously are VERY, VERY rare. Even more rare are those innocents who are actually put to death.

Many people think putting an inmate to death is inhumane. I think it is the most humane thing we can do for them...AND society. Putting a mad dog to death instead of keeping it in a cage for the rest of its life just makes sense.

EDIT: I don't care if the death penalty is not a deterrent. The point is that society ought not be burdened with those who commit heinous crimes.

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I do support the death penalty and punishment should fit the crime. I do draw the line of death row inmates whos guilt/innosense remains a question because of the lack of technology i.e. DNA testing. No I don't want to see an innocent person executed. However, if the evidence beyond a reaonable doubt proves guilt then yep I am for it!

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CAWriter,

It is actually cheaper to house an inmate for life than to administer the death penalty:
"In California, home to the nation's biggest death row population at 667, it costs an extra $90,000 per inmate to imprison someone sentenced to death — an additional expense that totals more than $63.3 million annually, according to a 2008 study by the state's Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29552692/ns/us_news-crime_and...

I waffle back and forth on this. Sometimes the death penalty seems too easy. I'd like those convicted of heinous crimes to live a life of hell on Earth by working them to the bone doing the worst of the worst jobs that society in general doesn't want to do.

BETH ... they are imprisoned for so long while waiting to be put to death because of the long, drawn-out appeals process. Because if you are going to sentence someone to death, you can't just put them out into the square and let the firing squad have at them like they do in the Middle East. Do we want to live in Iran? No. So when we sentence someone to death, they are allowed to appeal, which is an expensive process for the courts.

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2 words Casey Anthony... death penalty! Too bad it didn't play out that way.

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Whoever commited a crime, should do the time and live with themselves. That is the worst punishment in my book. Being haunted day and night for the rest of your life.

However, in some cases, where they truly do not care, are a sociopath and have no regard for anyone, and cannot find redemption, it makes you think what justice is there for their victims? I do struggle in these cases. People like Manson , with no remorse, a living and breathing demon, yeah, to me that can be a hard argument.

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Yes, I support the death penalty, but think there should be some sort of completely irrefutable evidence. I think that the legal system needs an overhaul so that people aren't on death row for umpteen years, and get so many appeals. Limit the number of appeals and the valid reasons for appeals. It's over and done. Then it wouldn't be so costly.

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I'm against the death penalty and leave that up to God. Its not up to us to decide when others should die or how they should die. There are many criminals that I wish the most horrible things on, but I don't believe in the death penalty.

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This is a tough one, I have mixed feelings I fear what if they got it wrong?

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Do I agree with the death penalty, no I do not.
As for the arguement about which costs more, to execute or not. NO, it does NOT cost more to EXECUTE someone than it does to house them for life. where the cost is coming into play is that, for whatever moronic reason, death row inmates are housed seperately and for whatever reason that costs more. and the legal costs are more. so, if someone had the death penalty and they housed them with gen pop then it would cost the same to house them until their execution.

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Nope. Because I'm a Christian, and I am afraid that they will ask God for forgiveness, and He will give it, and then they will get to go to heaven and be happy for eternity.

I think they should be forced to rot in a cell and be miserable for the rest of their lives. (Oh, yeah.....nice Christian attitude, huh? Well, I didn't say I was a GOOD Christian!)

But what really ticks me off is that they are not just left in a cell. They get decent food, gyms, rec rooms, etc. They do not deserve that. If they killed someone, or did something to a child, they deserve nothing more than to be left in a 10x10 room with food shoved in through a slot each day.

And, if they were all left in their cells, we wouldn't have to worry about the inmates stabbing each other, or fights breaking out, or the guards, and so on. In fact, if they're stuck in their cells, then wouldn't that cut down on the cost of the guards? They wouldn't need so many then. Anyway...... that's where I stand.

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I am going to give you my best educated answer: I don't know.
I waffle something fierce on the issue. Good thing I'm not in charge of it!

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Yes I do support it. They should do it right away though, and not wait 10 years like they usually do. Appeals should not be allowed, if your guilty then your guilty end of story. I feel that if you take someone's life then you should not get to keep yours. The problem with the death penalty is that they don't use it enough.