Should the United States practice capital punishment or life-long jail? Tell me

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   LailaKposted 12 years ago

   Should the United States practice capital punishment or life-long jail? Tell me your opinion

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   Longhunterposted 12 years ago

   Yes, we should have the death penalty. The appeals process should be shortened as well. It's 25 - 30 years in my state of TN. That's far too long.

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3. 60

   shea duaneposted 12 years ago

   Interestingly, last night was the first night in my parish's religious education program. We began with a discussion about the Ten Commandments and the kids (6th grade) jumped. The children insisted that with the birth of Jesus came the new covenant: love is the greatest commandment. An eye for an eye is no longer the law of God; Jesus changed that. Jesus said that only people without sin can condemn a sinner.
   I did not offer my opinion, but I agree. The death penalty is barbaric and unconstitutional.

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   Rock_njposted 12 years ago

   I do not support the death penalty in the United States for one basic reason:   there is no way to ensure that mistakes are not made.  I do not trust the state (any state) to get this most important decision right.  There are plenty of examples of innocent people being released from death row. 
   
   Has anyone ever been falsely accused of doing something they did not do?  I sure have.  When I was a child, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time twice, and was accused by the police of doing something that both times I had absolutely nothing to do with.  Both were property offenses that other kids had committed before I wandered into the area.  Those experiences have stuck with me as real world examples of the reality that those who are accused are not always guilty of what they are accused of doing.

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   SlyMJposted 12 years ago

   Don't most religions and moral codes have something along the lines of 'Thou shalt not kill'? Only when someone poses an immediate threat to other lives, can it be justified to take whatever measures are necessary to neutralize that threat. Sticking someone on death row for 30 years under the constant threat of execution is cruel and unusual treatment. Executing someone, when there is the remotest chance they are innocent, is itself murder. The death penalty has no place in a 'civilized' society. This assertion is backed up by comparing those countries that still have it with those that do not.

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