Poll: Death Penalty - Yay or Nay

[Schlong&Stable]

I can't prove it's wrong, that as you allude to is a moral choice but there is evidence to show it's not effective at preventing crime.

Prevention of crime is not the purpose of retributive punishment though. I don't actually see many people talking about deterrence, so this is something of a straw man.

That said, there is absolutely no evidence to show retributive punishment does not prevent crime. Of course it prevents crime, just not all crime.

The number of yes votes is disturbing and is a reminder to us all how close we are to danger as a society and how we must fight hard to avoid tyranny.

What has "tyranny" got to do with the issue?

 

[Energize]

What has "tyranny" got to do with the issue?

A government or society that murders people is a tyrannical one, more so when it's on the mere basis of beyond "reasonable doubt".

 

[John40]

The number of yes votes is disturbing and is a reminder to us all how close we are to danger as a society and how we must fight hard to avoid tyranny.

 

[Gaygle]

A government or society that murders people is a tyrannical one, more so when it's on the mere basis of beyond "reasonable doubt".

Yeah, but the government isn't advocating or commenting on the use of the death penalty. 42% of GD OcUKers are.

So unless you are under the rule of these 42%, then there is nothing tyrannical about it.

 

[Energize]

Yeah, but the government isn't advocating or commenting on the use of the death penalty. 42% of GD OcUKers are.

So unless you are under the rule of these 42%, then there is nothing tyrannical about it.

My point is, if this is even remotely representative of society, we need to be on guard as a nation.

 

[FrenchTart]

You mean because you cannot shame people for having an opinion you dislike?

I missed this at the time.

I presume that the majority of people that voted yes would not be shamed by their choice? It would be quite odd if so.

Either way, no, that isn't my reason. It's a rather divisive subject and personally it would matter to me if someone I was speaking to believed in capital punishment and it would help me shape an opinion of them. It's a pretty basic human interaction to do this and something that we all do pretty much constantly.

edit: It seems a lot of people assumed the same as you for some reason. I actually can't see who voted what btw. Perhaps an admin can. Either way, it would be an abuse of trust for any of the mod team to post someone's name in an anonymous poll (unless it was a non-serious one and we let slip who voted "pancake" or something).

 

[Schlong&Stable]

A government or society that murders people is a tyrannical one, more so when it's on the mere basis of beyond "reasonable doubt".

But a state which locks people up for the rest of their lives based on the same evidence is not? Doesn't compute. If anything, I'd regard that as crueller.

And by definition, it is not murder. Murder is unlawful killing, but if the state legalises execution, it is not unlawful.

 

[Energize]

But a state which locks people up for the rest of their lives based on the same evidence is not? Doesn't compute. If anything, I'd regard that as crueller.

And by definition, it is not murder. Murder is unlawful killing, but if the state legalises execution, it is not unlawful.

I consider taking a life and the process leading up to it (which causes huge suffering to the individual concerned) as a greater harm than life imprisonment.

Naturally for the purposes of this discussion I'm talking about murder in the moral/ethical sense, ie killing someone outside of self-defence or war.

 

[Casdawer]

100% no.

Where a part of me would be happy to see child molesters, murders, terrorists etc. without their heads, we as a society can not kill for 'justice'.

The money would be better spent on studies working out how peoeple become like this and fix it at the source. We need better education and more money invested in Mental Health treatment.

 

[Tunney]

But a state which locks people up for the rest of their lives based on the same evidence is not? Doesn't compute. If anything, I'd regard that as crueller.

The difference being that if fresh evidence comes to light, a prisoner serving a life sentence can be released.

 

[eldergeek]

My point is, if this is even remotely representative of society, we need to be on guard as a nation.

Can I live in your world, where unicorns poop rainbows, and puppies are always fluffy?

 

[nick.lidgett]

Prison does not seem to deter child molesters, rapists, murderers, thieves, sir philip green, violent thugs, racists and drug dealers and neither would losing their lives.

Whether they are driven by greed, emotional or mental issues, it doesnt really matter.

Prison isnt like staying at Butlins like the Daily fail would have you believe but its not that tough either.

There is no need for capital punishment in our society, the need is to reform the prison service.

Capital punishment is not an effective deterrent or form of justice.

 

[Zethor]

The number of yes votes is disturbing and is a reminder to us all how close we are to danger as a society and how we must fight hard to avoid tyranny.

Don't boo. Vote.
-Obama

They can't win, turmoil in our economies makes them louder and increases their ranks but they will always be a minority in the Western world. The countries in which they are the majority are in the gutter and that is not a coincidence.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Fifty something of which is in and around Stoke on Trent? How much experience do you have of psychology, murder, forensic evidence, and recidivism? How much meaningful experience have you garnered in those years? Age doesn't equal meaningful/relevant experience.

And how much have you had?
Why is your view so much better than mine?

Oh and maybe my mind changed after working with murderers and other such scum.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I think this thread is a good example of why this should never, ever be put to any sort of referendum. The amount of ignorance is astounding.

I agree 100% - people who wouldn't vote for it, astounding.

 

[D.P.]

As someone touched upon earlier, I assuming this is to do with the fact that a lot of murders etc are crimes of passion. The person isn't thinking straight and the rationale of "oh I might get executed for this" never enters their minds.

That, and the opposite extreme where people just don't care about the consequences, or never think they will be caught in any case. And the others are just mentally ill in any case

No one will suddenly think "oh, I wont kill this person I hate because I don't want to be electrocuted, but id I spent the rest of my life in prison with no freedom then it would be totally acceptable to me".

Someone is going to commit the murder, or not, the fear of a death penalty pretty much never comes to play. Which is why mountains of empirical evidence shows it has zero effect on prevention.

 

[Devrij]

So surprised that it's this close on the poll. I would have expected a forum of somewhat intelligent tech enthusiasts to consider the flaws with the death penalty.

Then again, this is GD

 

[Tunney]

So surprised that it's this close on the poll. I would have expected a forum of somewhat intelligent tech enthusiasts to consider the flaws with the death penalty.

Then again, this is GD

Support for the death penalty dropped below 50% for the first time last year. OCuk is better than average but only just.

 

[Sutters]

the cost is so high now, something like £40k a year per person, something different needs to be done for sure.

 

[Judgeneo]

Never really seen the point in the death penalty, its purely a form vengeance. It costs a fortune in the states, doesn't seem to do anything to deter would-be convicts, and doesn't do anything for rehabilitation.