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Who Is Really Being Punished Through The Practice Of Death Penalty?

posted June 25, 2008 - 9:06am
Who Is Really Being Punished Through The Practice Of Death Penalty?

The United States is the only country left in the western world that still practice capital punishment or the death penalty. About 13,000 people have been legally executed since colonial times. My biggest concern regarding the practice of the death penalty is not the actual sentence or the execution itself. It's the fact that innocent people are being sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit, that is disturbing. Read more about innocent prisoners on death row here

http://www.truthinjustice.org/dpissues.htm

Obviously there are flaws in the system that allows this to happen repeatedly. Another concern is the time prisoners spend on death row, sometimes over 10 years waiting to receive their punishment. Imagine the psychological torture of being locked down waiting for your death for such a long time ,this is obviously unacceptable to any civilized society. One might say these people deserve it , but on the other hand one also have to look to the function of punishment from the point of view of the legal system. The function of punishment is not to give criminals what they deserve or revenge the crime they commited, but to protect society as a whole and prevent people from committing crimes.

I'm also thinking about the families of the convicted prisoners on death row. The pain and suffering they have to go through on top of the fact that they have a family member taken away from them for commiting a serious crime. The revenge aspect of capital punishment is very present and this is of course a natural reaction when somebody has commited a horrible crime , but does this have a place within a civilized legal system? Finally, I personally consider death to be the easy way out for the guilty convicted felon on death row. In my opinion the death penalty indirectly hands over the actual punishment and suffering to the family and friends of the convicted person. I'd say some people don't deserve to live, therefore, instead of finishing them off let them live and prove themselves worthy of life even if they have to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. That's basically my thoughts on this topic

Any additional thoughts concerning death penalty? Should it be abolished?

I'm interested in hearing arguments for and against the death penalty from citizens of a country that practice it...

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Author: Martin123
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Comments

Anthony Graves Death Penalty

Martin123 - Mon, 2008-7-7 10:21 am
As mentioned before in the comments to this Xombyte the case of Anthony Graves is coming up again. His retrial was scheduled today July 7, this date will likely be reset pending the outcome of the appeal. read about it here http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A635120

True, that's why

Martin123 - Thu, 2008-26-6 1:42 pm
there can be no doubt whatsoever that the perpetrator is is guilty. And as it is today this is not the case. Innocent people has been sentenced to death and executed. Here's an example of such a case. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/05/30/eveningnews/main200710.shtml Anthony Graves has not yet been executed but there's a good chance he will be, even if he is not executed he may have been wrongly imprisoned. There exists no physical evidence to put Anthony Graves on the scene of the murder yet he is still on death row based on circumstancial evidence for a murder commited in 1992. read more about his case here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Graves His case is coming up again July 7 this year after another appeal

Closure

binkdonk - Thu, 2008-26-6 6:21 am
Closure for the family of the victims, and the sense that the perpetrator is not ever going to do it to somebody else...but that can't be if the "justice" system doesn't get the right person in the first place. Get Paid $$$ to Write! Join Xomba! www.xomba.com/referral/7778f814 Check out your weekly Tarotscope http://spiritlightsinsights.blogspot.com

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The death penalty is not revenge

Martin123 - Thu, 2008-26-6 6:01 am
I understand that both the criminal and the victims are aware of the consequences, but i still suspect there is an element of revenge to it, on a personal level. At least for me I know it would be, that's the way i would feel. However, this is irrelevant considering, like you say, that it is the justice system that delivers and decides the punishment. Still innocent people are being executed and that can't be accepted under any circumstances. Any other opinions on this?

I think we pretty much agree

Publius - Wed, 2008-25-6 2:18 pm
I think we pretty much agree on who should get the death penalty. That's why I said the murderer needs to be witnessed at the scene either by people or video, along with corroborating forensic evidence and/or a confession. If we have that, then there will be little to no doubt about whether or not the person committed the crime. This is why circumstantial evidence alone is usually not enough to convict someone of this type of crime. But when people are caught - especially on video - and still get off or get a lenient sentence either on a technicality or because they plea bargain, I think it does the public injustice. The death penalty is not revenge. It is not the victim or their family that delivers the punishment to the criminal; it is the general public through the court system. If the punishment was decided solely by the victim's family without regard to the defendant's motive or rights, then that would be revenge. But with a system of laws and procedures, established by the public long before the act or the punishment, revenge is not an issue. Both the criminal and the victim's family already know the potential consequences and each has a duty to respect the punishment that is sought by the prosecution and decided by the judge and jury. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

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In principle I agree with you

Martin123 - Wed, 2008-25-6 1:37 pm
But there are many grey areas when it comes to murder. The motive of a commited murder is not irrelevant. I think the death penalty should only apply to what may be described as predatory murder or murder one, and I believe this is mostly the case. The justice system must also have enough security to ensure that no innocent people are ever sentenced to death ever. The benefit of the doubt should always apply. If only one innocent person is/has been/will be sentenced to death the justice system is working against its purpose. In the United States several innocent people have been executed in modern times so obviously the system needs some major adjustments. The treshold for giving the death sentence is obviously to low. When it comes to the question of revenge versus justice,knowing myself, I know I would seek revenge if my family or friends fell victim to such a horrible crime. This is a natural reaction. Blood for blood, It is seen practiced in tribal communities all over the world and in europe it can be found in Albania among other countries outside the justice system. Is this need for revenge satisfied by the justice system through the death penalty in the US? I don't know , I can imagine this is the way it is perceived for some people.

The death penalty

Publius - Wed, 2008-25-6 12:09 pm
I agree with one of your points...it takes way too long to execute a criminal who has received a death sentence. We need to speed up the process. I think the death penalty should only be reserved for murderers (which it is, as far as I know) - murderers who are positively identified as killing someone, by video, multiple witness accounts, or by open confession, along with corroborating evidence (forensic) that puts them at the scene of the crime. Then there is no doubt about their guilt and no reason for letting them off the hook for depriving another human of their right to exist. If they cannot have the decency to allow another person to live, then they become a threat to other people who wish to continue living and the murderer should not be allowed to live themselves. Once a person is convicted of murder and receives the death penalty, he should be able to appeal (even if it is futile), but the appeals process needs to be fast-tracked through the courts. It should not take 10-20 years to execute a prisoner on death row. It shouldn't take longer than one. The death penalty is not about "revenge," it is about justice. If a murderer does not have the decency to understand that he/she does not have the right to deprive someone of their own right to exist, then that person does not have what it takes to live in a "civilized" society. Justice is merely the administration of deserved reward or punishment. If one person purposely takes the life of another, then what would they deserve as punishment? What if they take multiple lives? Should they be allowed to live the rest of their life with all the basic comforts that free people enjoy (shelter, food, life)? Should the rest of society - the ones who suffered because of the criminal's transgressions - be forced to foot the bill? The pain and suffering of the murderer is irrelevant once they make the conscious choice to inflict pain and suffering on their victim and their victim's family. We ought not feel bad about people who willingly commit murder and receive a punishment that simply deprives them of the same right that they denied their victims. Once they violate that right, then their own rights become limited and their own punishment is in the hands of the civilized society that they have forsaken. That is the result of committing murder. If murderers believe the rules don't apply to them, then when the time comes to consider their fate, those same rules that they wish to invoke to save their own life will not apply at that point either. They cannot claim to have a right to live when they did not respect that right with their victims. So, no...the death penalty should not be abolished. Is that the type of answer you're looking for? *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

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