Death Penalty: Moral or Immoral?

[WinePusher]

In the United States justice system, a person who violates a traffic law doesn't get life in prison, and a person who murders 5 people doesn't get fined $100. Thats because the punishment generally should fit the crime.

Some proponents of the death penalty suggest that, if a murderer kills another person, than the murderer, in turn, should recieve that death penalty because it would be an appropriate punishment for the crime. You take someone else's life, in turn, your life gets taken.

Opponents say that people can change over time and everybody deserves a second chance. Christians say that even though the accused committed a horrific crime, their life still has value.

1) Do you agree or disagree that the death penalty is a successful deterrent?

2) Can people change over time?

3) Is the judge who issued the death penalty sentence, a murderer?

4) Do your support or oppose the death penalty?

[SailingCyclops]

Which comes down to a VERY tricky philosophical discussion of what is Just.

Absolutely correct; which is why I could never sit in judgment with respect to capital crimes. I could never justly condemn someone when murders and torturers, who having run the government, go unpunished.

Also, from my perspective, I could never sit on a jury and be asked to judge someone's theft, or assault, or almost anything else for that matter, when the very government trying the person is guilty of the same acts, and go unpunished.

When stated thusly, I have been excused from jury duty, as I could never justly condemn anyone of practically any crime.

Go figure! I am an atheist with morals!

Bob

[SailingCyclops]

100% support it, we don't use it nearly enough.

I could almost agree with you if it were applied justly and 100% of the time. It is unjust when applied selectively, based on race, class, or social/political standing.

Example: I won't mention the capital crimes (torture, kidnapping, murder, wars of aggression) committed by George W Bush et al because I would be accused of being a liberal. I will site only one recent case. The background of which can be found here --Obama authorizes assassination of U.S. citizen-- How can the death penalty be applied justly when the very government executing the sentence is guilty of the very same crimes?

A punishment applied selectively can not be just.

With respect to the above see also:
Kucinich Legislation Ends the Extrajudicial Killing of U.S. Citizens
The 'Obama doctrine': kill, don't detain

Bob