How do you feel about Capital Punishment (ie. the death penalty)!!

[Simulacrum]

So the solution to prisoners living too luxuriously at the taxpayer's expense is to... kill them?

Personally, I think the more reasonable response would be to make them work, and at the very least earn their food.

I mean... isn't that just common sense?

What if they, being sociopaths, psychopaths, and/or likely suffering from loads of other issues such as impulse-control, kill or cripple their guards, or escape to repeat-offend? It's especially hard to imagine it being profitable to put such dangerous people to work, considering how hard (and thus expensive) it would be to get them to do anything while keeping everyone around them safe - and of course, them safe from each other.

The latter. I see no benefit to killing criminals whatsoever.

If you literally "see no benefit whatsoever", then you are simply incapable of reason. Wether the benefits outweigh the costs is a sensible argument, but to outright deny that there are ANY benefits is simply pure, unfiltered madness.

[Deleted]

and he will never get out...

What is your point?

i am just curious why the prison cells look more like a hotel room, i have actually stayed in hotels worse than that :P

[Mondroc]

So lets break down the whole argument to a simple question:


Would you rather see a few innocent POSSIBLY die, or let a few hardened/violent criminals DEFINITELY live (and be a burden on society).

The law exists to protect the innocent not punish the guilty as many think. The law makes mistakes, a lot of them, and death is the one punishment you cannot reverse. For the death penalty to be more productive then not, the system would have to be perfect and that isn't ever going to happen in its current state. Cases are, most of the time, judged by a jury and they are just 12 real people with 12 real peoples minds. They make mistakes, should an innocent person have to suffer for the faults of the system? I'm not against the death penalty per ce, but I am against killing innocent people. The many do not outweigh the few in this case.

[Herethebeef]

the death penalty isnt a deterrent to crime because murders are done for three reason all in which the murderer isnt even thinking about the punishment he could/should get

1 is planed murderers like hitmen, the mafia or you even planing to kill your neighbour because you dont like his cat you dont think of the punishment because you dont think you will ever get caught
2 is passion if you kill someone because they cheated on you or something like that you dont think about the punishment because you just want to see the person that hurt you dead
3 is affect, you see your husband/wife cheating in your bed grab the nearest heavy object and bash their heads in here you dont think at all

so no the death penalty isnt a deterrent at all

I find this sentiment to be completely illogical and asinine. Not at deterrent at all. At all? AT ALL? You mean not even one person, nowhere, decided NOT to kill someone because they didn't want to get caught and face the death penalty? Pure idiocy.

[Catta]

i am just curious why the prison cells look more like a hotel room, i have actually stayed in hotels worse than that :P

how should i know - im not norwegian anyway

Ive seen the jails of my own country and while there are some like that which is very low security then its far from all of them which are like that - furthermore i believe Breivik will be moved to a different jail when he is convicted but due to the amount of stuff needed for the trial it will take time

[Deleted]

and he will never get out...

What is your point?

The point is that it is of no significance whether he gets out or not whilst living a comfortable and likely happy life whilst the mourners of the victims here mercilessly hunted down and killed in a cold and calculating fashion are left to mourn and grieve for the rest of their lives. As I say, if you're comfortable with that notion then fine, but I think it says more for you than it ever would for me.

[Simulacrum]

Why: Because the judicial system is not perfect and innocent people end up being killed due to wrongful convictions (it has happened more than once). I'm all for punishing those who deserve it, including capital punishment for heinous crimes (e.g. rape or pre-meditated murder), but unless we find a way to ensure that everyone who is on death row deserves to be there, which is essentially impossible, I cannot support capital punishment. If they're in prison, there's still a chance that the truth can be found and they can be released to live the rest of their lives, but there's no coming back from death.

There's no coming back from death due to old age from life in prison either.

[Deleted]

So lets break down the whole argument to a simple question:


Would you rather see a few innocent POSSIBLY die, or let a few hardened/violent criminals DEFINITELY live (and be a burden on society).

Yes, of course. You don't realy value live in the US I suppose.

[Deleted]

i am just curious why the prison cells look more like a hotel room, i have actually stayed in hotels worse than that :P

I'd put it down to an abuse of the common argument about human rights applying to all (which is abused to the extreme as you see in Breivik's comfortable living quarters), even to those who knowingly forfeit them in breaching those rights regarding their fellow human beings.

[Deleted]

Care to back that up with statistics?

How about that my mum works in a courthouse?

[Yngwie]

Because they've earned it?

[Deleted]

I'm against capital punishment, for various reasons. The major one being that, no one should have the power of deciding whether another person lives or dies, no matter how evil that person might be.

[Mondroc]

I find this sentiment to be completely illogical and asinine. Not at deterrent at all. At all? AT ALL? You mean not even one person, nowhere, decided NOT to kill someone because they didn't want to get caught and face the death penalty? Pure idiocy.

While your sentiments are true, the same could be applied to any punishment. Imagine the punishment for being caught for downloading were to have a clown hat surgically implanted onto your head. Most of the "scene" would continue to operate and never wear a clown hat (because they are never caught) and the majority of the "beneficiaries" would continue to benefit from it and not give it a second thought. Sure, a few would not (a few being relative in this example) want to risk having a clown hat on their heads for the rest of their lives but that doesn't make it any less of a stupid idea.

[Catta]

The point is that it is of no significance whether he gets out or not whilst living a comfortable and likely happy life whilst the mourners of the victims here mercilessly hunted down and killed in a cold and calculating fashion are left to mourn and grieve for the rest of their lives. As I say, if you're comfortable with that notion then fine, but I think it says more for you than it ever would for me.

yes im sure he will live a happy life within a prison - how much of a recluse must you be to think that even a prison like that will be a place where people wants to live...

[Borzo]

The point is that it is of no significance whether he gets out or not whilst living a comfortable and likely happy life whilst the mourners of the victims here mercilessly hunted down and killed in a cold and calculating fashion are left to mourn and grieve for the rest of their lives. As I say, if you're comfortable with that notion then fine, but I think it says more for you than it ever would for me.

So painted walls, a desk, and a piece-of-shit Ikea bed, are all one needs to live a comfortable and happy life?

Wow, you're goals in life must be very low.


(I'm kidding, but you see how what you're saying is ridiculous?)

[Deleted]

i am just curious why the prison cells look more like a hotel room, i have actually stayed in hotels worse than that :P

Norway's focus is on rehabilitation and preparing people to be contributing members of society once they are set free, instead of based on punishment and making sure criminals face a hard time. Once they're let out, they don't want broken people walking their streets.

It goes against most people's instincts, but it seems to work very well for Norway, with an extremely low crime rate and extremely low reoffense rate.

[Catta]

How about that my mum works in a courthouse?

So anecdotal evidence eh...

[BananaHandsB]

There are some instances, where honestly, capital punishment really is the best option. That being said though, I don't think it should realistically be used, and here's why.

It's impossible to ever be 100% sure of a verdict. In general, they've actually been proven to be quite inaccurate (look at all the cases overturned with new DNA evidence). Regardless, even in the most open and shut cases, there is ALWAYS some level of uncertainty. Because of this, if the verdict is indeed wrong, the state is, in essence, committing murder, not justice, and this is something that simply cannot be condoned. It's a mistake that cannot be risked. At least by putting a person in prison, there is a chance that one day, if it's found the prosecution was wrong, that person can go free, and an attempt at recompense can be made. That's simply accepting that our system is flawed, and doing the best to eliminate the error, and the effect of that error, rather than accepting that error and allowing it to potentially cause the irreversible and unjust punishment that is murder. It's impossible to achieve the level of confidence required to enact a punishment with that level of finality.

If there was some way to eliminate doubt, I think there are times where people simply cannot coexist with other people. It's rare, and it's unfortunate, but for the safety of others, it could occasionally be the best option. Realistically though, there will always be some doubt, and because of that capital punishment is simply not an option.

[Shakk]

Comes down to the bible and nothing else.
Eye for an eye.

Eye for an eye came from the old Hebrew Bible, and was adopted from Hamurabi's Code

Capital Punishment, or vigilante justice....take your pick. People that commit these offenses don't deserve to be rehabilitated and placed back into society. Death is the only form of punishment that brings closure to the other families. There is no way they will ever crawl out of the ground.

[Deleted]

There are risks inherent in capital punishment. Would I justify 99 dead murderers or rapists for the death of 1 innocent? Absolutely.

Yes it's horrible, but it would do a lot for this world.