Do you support the Death Penalty

[Kathandira]

With recent talk of a young man being executed unjustly and Dylan Roof still roaming the halls unscatched and was nurtured by a Whooper years ago, the talk of abolishing the death penalty has risen again. Do you support it or wish it abolished?

I do approve of it, but only in extreme cases. For example, a serial killer with dozens of murders on their hands.

[Pony Soldier]

I definitely support it for the pieces of shit like serial killers and rapists and anyone else who commits crimes worthy of being put down. Those kind of people don't deserve life and have no place in the world. What good is keeping them in jail going to do? Get rid of them and do the world a favor.

However, I think before the death penalty is given, it needs to be 100% confirmed that the person in question is the right person and not someone innocent. I think it's fucked up that someone could be mistaken for the actual criminal and be put to death for no reason other than an incompetent justice system. So as long as they have the right person then yes I definitely support it.

[Shadowferal]

I definitely support it for the pieces of shit like serial killers and rapists and anyone else who commits crimes worthy of being put down. Those kind of people don't deserve life and have no place in the world. What good is keeping them in jail going to do? Get rid of them and do the world a favor.

I think the same of the likes of Peter Scully, Carme Ann Alvarez and Liezyl Margallo.
They've no business breathing air.

[Zuben]

I feel like I could only support it if I was also fine to be the executioner. Which I'm not.

[Saltysquidoon]

I mean I can see the theoretical utility in that some people are soo fundamentally incompatible with society that they could never be safely restrained or rehabilitated. The problem is it's a self-resolving issue as those people rarely allow themselves to be taken alive.

In practice, I don't support because the criminal justice system is not even vaguely close to good enough let alone perfect.

[BeepBoo]

Theoretically, yes. I think someone can be bad enough to justify being put down.

In actuality? I don't know if I have enough faith in our system to properly handle the responsibility.

Half of the reason I'd want someone put to death is because it should save society money from having to fund the entire life of someone who is impossible to reform rotting in prison. That's currently DEFINITELY not happening due to legal proceedings being so expensive even if you DO end up getting to put them down. In addition, we have proof that we've wrongfully killed people with the death penatly, and even ONE person is too many to ever consider it again IMO.

Maybe in extremely rare cut-and-dry cases, say like that dude who shot up las vegas, or the sandy hook shooter, but my hope is most of the time cops would kill them without a trial anyways because they're such an immediate threat.

[PC2]

I mean I can see the theoretical utility in that some people are soo fundamentally incompatible with society that they could never be safely restrained or rehabilitated.

Everyone could be rehabilitated though, it's just a matter of extending people's lifespan and acquiring the knowledge of how to fix violent people. This may be very difficult but that's not an excuse to give up and take the easy route by killing the person.

people rarely allow themselves to be taken alive.

The premise here is that we're talking about criminals that have already been taken in to custody.

[Kathranis]

Generally speaking, no. My opinions on the prison system are also pretty far left even compared to a lot of progressives.

I personally think that barring extreme cases, imprisonment without rehabilitation is itself criminal. The fact that there's an entire prison industrial complex in the US is frankly disgusting, and the number of people who are awaiting trial, wrongly convicted, or incarcerated over minor nonviolent offenses is inexcusable.

Our nation also spends far more money on housing and feeding our criminal population than our homeless population, which is also kind of ridiculous to think about.

In an ideal world they'd drastically reduce the number of incarcerations and would convert a majority of prisons into halfway house facilities that can house the homeless and provide them with the care and security they need.

As for the death penalty itself, it should probably be reserved for only the most heinous of unrepentant criminals who are a risk to the rest of the prison population, and even then I only say that because it's arguably more humane than prolonged solitary confinement.

[PC2]

Our nation also spends far more money on housing and feeding our criminal population than our homeless population, which is also kind of ridiculous to think about.

Food is pretty cheap though and I never hear of homeless people dying because there is no pathway to getting food. It seems neglible in both cases. In terms of shelter I think homeless people generally don't want it in my state because it seems like they genuinely prefer to float around at their discretion instead of living in a place with strict rules regarding their behavior.

[Kathranis]

Food is pretty cheap though and I never hear of homeless people dying because there is no pathway to getting food. It seems neglible in both cases. In terms of shelter I think homeless people generally don't want it in my state because it seems like they genuinely prefer to float around at their discretion instead of living in a place with strict rules regarding their behavior.

I still think it would be a better use of resources, even if it were voluntary. Even if you let homeless people stamp license plates at sub-minimum wage in exchange for room, board, and access to therapy, healthcare, and educational resources.

The reality is that prisons are currently housing lots of people who don't need to be there, who (with adequate rehabilitation) could be contributing to our society. And there's lots of people who don't have homes, structure, etc. who could also benefit from that rehabilitation.

[ParanoiD84]

Of course.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

Hard to argue someone that was instrumental in the Holocaust didn't deserve death.

[Saltysquidoon]

Everyone could be rehabilitated though, it's just a matter of extending people's lifespan and acquiring the knowledge of how to fix violent people. This may be very difficult but that's not an excuse to give up and take the easy route by killing the person.

Don't get me wrong. The prison system needs heavy reforms and doesn't even really support custodial sentences for anything less than serious violence.

That doesn't mean I've closed my eyes to the fact that some people can never fit into a society where to use of violence is monopolised by the state. Be that because of biological or environmental factors, mind you that doesn't mean I would support the death penalty even in that case. I was merely pointing out I can see why the argument exists.

[Phuongvi]

I support it espacially against dictator and corrupted politician

[Ermelloth]

I think that lifetime-long hard labor for the likes of mass murderers, serial killers and all other potential death raw criminals is much more justified punishment than relatively quick and painless death a lot of those would pick instead.

Let them clean toilets for the rest of their miserable lives. A more ethical, humane and honest solution than death penalty. And - what is most important here - it can be reversed if there was a tragic mistake of convicting innocent, while you surely can't bring back someone who got executed by mistake.

[Cts53]

I don't support the death penalty, but it's probably due to a more twisted reason than people think. Death is release, why would I want a horrid criminal to have release? Keep em alive and miserable for the rest of their natural life. Don't give them the way out, imo.

[Deadite]

Yip. Some people are just born with a head full of bad wiring.

[LilSaihah]

Very interesting that more centrists than conservatives support it, but I'm not surprised that there are so few conservative responses.

No I don't support the death penalty. The only sort of person who I think you could reasonably execute would be a Napoleon or Hitler type figure who is too popular to actually imprison. The average person on death row would not escape from a life in prison.

[Tic Tacs]

No, not because some people are fucked up beyond any reason but because there are always some innocent people who get executed due various loopholes and bad case/evidence.

[infinitemeridian]

Very interesting that more centrists than conservatives support it, but I'm not surprised that there are so few conservative responses.

No I don't support the death penalty. The only sort of person who I think you could reasonably execute would be a Napoleon or Hitler type figure who is too popular to actually imprison. The average person on death row would not escape from a life in prison.

I don't understand these answers - anybody who says "I don't support the death penalty, except in these such cases" does in fact, support the death penalty. It really is that simple.