The Death Penalty

[ted]

There is one aspect of the death penalty which I have always found to be intriguing:

Death is the only sentence which we hand down in a legal system which mirrors the crime. If someone is found guilty of rape, we do not sentence them to be raped. If someone is convicted of robbery, we do not sentence them to be robbed. If someone is convicted of arson, we do not, then, burn his house down, and so forth...(which, to me, would be closer to the concept of "an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth").

The sentence of death, however, can be handed down to one who kills, in certain circumstances. No other crime has a sentence which is akin to the crime. For the most part, all other crimes carry the weight of prison, money, or community service.

Interesting......

Anyway, I have no problem with the death sentence, as long as there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the person is guilty and the crime is to the degree which warrants the punishment.

t.

[LadyRaven]

Vex

You have a lot of hate in you.

Perhaps someday the Lord will touch that heart of yours.

I do not sense any hate, just a strong belief that he is correct.

[Kabowd]

that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment and would never fly in the US... even though personally i feel that ANY violent offenders should be quarantined 24/7. however, that would not even be economically feasible.

but in any event being in quarantine 24/7 doesn't eliminate the possibility of them murdering or escaping. it drastically reduces the possibility, but it does not eliminate it. remember the "texas 7"? or more recently, charles victor thompson? if you want me to, i can google it and produce a whole list of names for you.

Google "Death penalty innocent people executed"

I really have no prblem with the death penalty, but until it is absolutly foolproof, it shouldn't be used.

If you got a killer dead to rights and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is guilty, then by all means kill'em. And don't make it a long drawn out process. Take,em out back and put a bullet in his ear. Look at all the money you'd save. A box of 50 22cal. shells cost a buck and a half.

Now for innocent people being executed. What if that person strapped to that table was your mom or dad, brother or sister, son or daughter, husband or wife? It's happened...more then once. How would you feel if it was you?

Over a hundred innocent people have been released from death row. If their execution's would have taken place, would that have been obeying the Word of God?

Sometimes I wish Google had never been invented. You're seriously trusting google for this information?

Your "facts" are way off. I can give you some real facts if you want them, I live with a criminal prosecutor*. Even if you aren't interested in hearing real statistics, I'd highly suggest that you don't try to argue an issue with google as your evidence..lol.

*Edited to clarify that he's my brother. I realized after the fact that it sorta sounded like I was just shacking up with some dude..lol.

[Smalcald]

I am against the death penalty.

The question we must ask is why we do it? It does not deter crime, we know that. It is very expensive it is cheaper to lock someone else up for life. We kill only a very small percentage of those who actually get the penalty. It is inconsistent, a murderer who is black gets killed more than a murderer who is white, a male murderer is killed at higher rates than female murderers, poor murderers are killed at higher rates than rich ones, and we make mistakes. The court system in our country is far far from perfect, so yes we will and have killed innocent people.

I don't get it what is the point? The only point I can come up with is pure revenge, the good feeling of watching some admittedly rotten human being suffer. But I think a life in prison is actually worse. From a Christian standpoint would we not want to give a person a chance to repent?

[ted]

a murderer who is black gets killed more than a murderer who is white,

How does someone get killed more than someone else?

t.

[Guest mareesta]

I am against the death penalty.

The question we must ask is why we do it? It does not deter crime, we know that. It is very expensive it is cheaper to lock someone else up for life. We kill only a very small percentage of those who actually get the penalty. It is inconsistent, a murderer who is black gets killed more than a murderer who is white, a male murderer is killed at higher rates than female murderers, poor murderers are killed at higher rates than rich ones, and we make mistakes. The court system in our country is far far from perfect, so yes we will and have killed innocent people.

I don't get it what is the point? The only point I can come up with is pure revenge, the good feeling of watching some admittedly rotten human being suffer. But I think a life in prison is actually worse. From a Christian standpoint would we not want to give a person a chance to repent?

I agree with this.

Ending a life is ending a life no matter how it is done.

[apothanein kerdos]

It is inconsistent, a murderer who is black gets killed more than a murderer who is white, a male murderer is killed at higher rates than female murderers, poor murderers are killed at higher rates than rich ones, and we make mistakes.

Look up the federal statistics - the average death row inmate is a white male between the ages of 25-40 and middle class. You only got one of your assumptions correct.

[Akiko]

In an attempt to get this board a bit more focused:

Let's say that you have a serial killer who has been proved by DNA evidence that he has killed X number of victims. Now-- what do we sentance him with? Life in prision without parole or death?

I believe the question here is not "Did they do it?" It is instead, "Can we as humans issue the death of another human?" If you knew for a fact, 100%, that this man killed X number of people, what would you sentance? We know that as humans we are an imperfect people (and in turn the government is not perfect either). Do we have the right to decide when someone else's life will end, or is that strictly God's job?

That is the ultimate issue in the death penalty in my mind.

[Akiko]

A supporting point I"d like to bring up (regarding to the ultimate issue that I was speaking about in my second post)....

In the Old Testament, God spoke "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." However, in the New Testament, Jesus said instead to turn the other cheek and not take revenge. In fact, many laws were changed when Jesus died on the cross for us. Does the death penalty fall under one of those laws? Was stoning a strictly Old Testament event, or did Jesus allow stoning as a Bible-times death penalty?

[Floatingaxe]

A supporting point I"d like to bring up (regarding to the ultimate issue that I was speaking about in my second post)....

In the Old Testament, God spoke "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." However, in the New Testament, Jesus said instead to turn the other cheek and not take revenge. In fact, many laws were changed when Jesus died on the cross for us. Does the death penalty fall under one of those laws? Was stoning a strictly Old Testament event, or did Jesus allow stoning as a Bible-times death penalty?

The government is a God-given authority in these matters. Jesus was talking about we, the believers and how we need to act as individuals. Not the same.