Are there any crimes that deserve death?

Werewolf said:
Personally I think that prison is probably a much better deterrent than the death penalty for many people - remember in the US where the death penalty is in force it doesn't stop people killing each other, indeed in some areas/cases the people committing the murders are much more likely to be killed by a "competitor" than caught by the state, so it's no real deterrent for them.
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Absolutely, infact The US have a much higher murder rate than the UK does per person and yet the US law is MUCH harsher on criminals. Tougher punishments do not mean less crime.

Also, do not underestimate a life sentence compared to the Death Penalty. Being locked up for 15 years of your life is aimed at punishing you mentally, aswell as physically and is much harder to endure than simply killing an offender and using them to set an example.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Well the former is pretty much a given precursor to the second or if you don't have the state executing people then you either don't execute them (and therefore does the crime really merit death if you can't trust it to be done by the justice system) or you have vigilantes/something similar to execute the criminals and if so then why is a vigilante better for the purpose?
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If the justice system were perfect, more people might support the death penalty, as it isn't and never will be, those people will be against the death penalty. Hence you can be for it in principle but against it in practice. (Slightly hypothetical I know!)
 
bibalasvegas said:
If the justice system were perfect, more people might support the death penalty, as it isn't and never will be, those people will be against the death penalty. Hence you can be for it in principle but against it in practice. (Slightly hypothetical I know!)
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Ok, I see what you mean. I did half think about that as I was writing the post but wanted to check anyway. It would make no odds to my position but you may be right that it would affect some peoples views.
 
I am of the opinion that some crimes are so heinous that life without the chance of parole is the only appropriate sentence. However I also believe that the human condition cannot tolerate a life of no hope - which this sentence would instil and therefore to be humane the prisoner should be offered the chance to take the death sentence at any time during their sentence.
 
platinum87 said:
That's not true. If all those who break any law are executed, there would be far less crime.

So tougher punishments mean less crime..

Problem?
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Yes, because it doesn't actually work that way in terms of stopping other people breaking laws.

In the case of laws such as murder, most are either crimes of passion or crimes of illness, and hence the risk is not factored in.
 
platinum87 said:
That's not true. If all those who break any law are executed, there would be far less crime.

So tougher punishments mean less crime..

Problem?
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Simple example,

Pick any US State that uses the Death Penalty. Now compare the crime rate in that state to one that doesn't have it and you'll find there is no significant difference.

So tougher punishments do not always mean less crime ...

Trust me, I have a Masters in Crimninology :)
 
Dear oh dear.

Some of you have no idea what justice is. "Lock them up and throw away the key"; "let them rot"; "kill them" - those things are not even about justice at all.

Those things would simply make you feel better about the crime that was committed.

This is why asking this question to the general public is a pretty bad thing to do. Most people let their emotions rule over their judgement. Especially when it comes to something like pedophilia.
 
FoxEye said:
Dear oh dear.

Some of you have no idea what justice is. "Lock them up and throw away the key"; "let them rot"; "kill them" - those things are not even about justice at all.

Those things would simply make you feel better about the crime that was committed.

This is why asking this question to the general public is a pretty bad thing to do. Most people let their emotions rule over their judgement. Especially when it comes to something like pedophilia.
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So what would you do then given the choice?
 
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