The World Beyond BetterMost > Anything Goes
Didn't any boy cry? This girl certainly did...
isabelle:
Hi Del,
After reading what you say, I still think that I could totally understand the victim (of a rape) killing their agressor, because at least there would be no confusion as to the real culprit.One of the HUGE downsides of capital punishment is that someone else does the vengeance (the state), and from what I know, quite a few innocents have been executed...
Kelda:
Oh Scott... wow.
You are in the un-enviable position of being able to see this from a non hypothetical situation.
I have to say - I have no stong opinion either way - as I jut find that its a very hard subject to make a decision over.
Is this 'an eye for an eye' take really moral? Or are we just getting rid of the bad eggs in society, so we can function better and that makes it better? Should we give everyone a second chance? and what if a mistake is made - there is no way back from death.
I'm inclined to think if something happened to me or my family/friends - I would be much more opinionated. Most of us here are lucky not to be in that position.
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: isabelle on March 09, 2007, 03:21:31 am ---Hi Del,
After reading what you say, I still think that I could totally understand the victim (of a rape) killing their agressor, because at least there would be no confusion as to the real culprit.One of the HUGE downsides of capital punishment is that someone else does the vengeance (the state), and from what I know, quite a few innocents have been executed...
--- End quote ---
I know of no system that is perfect Isabelle. We don't know how many innocent people were put to death, just as we don't know how many innocent people were sent to prison for the rest of their lives for crimes they didn't commit. Sadly, even the victims and "eyewitnesses" to crimes have been mistaken and sent innocent men to jail.
If we waited for a perfect system so that no innocent would ever accidentally be punished, we'd never have a justice system. Even now, DNA testing is releasing prisoner after prisoner who were sentenced for crimes they didn't commit. In the USA, more and more laws are being passed so that all prisoners especially those on death row have their cases reviewed to see if DNA can substantiate or overturn their convictions. Death row inmates have a process of many many appeals.
It's not an easy sentence to pass on someone. Most people would like to give the benefit of the doubt to someone, but more and more, it's becoming obvious that there is something wrong with some people, serial killers, rapists, child molesters/murderers. There is no 'curing' them. They are driven by some compulsion and will not stop.
Someone famous once said something like, 'It's better that 9 guilty men go free than have 1 innocent person jailed'. Of course, that was said back in the day when communities were smaller and people didn't have atomic weapons and one person flying a plane could conceivable kill over 10,000 people with one act.
What price is society is willing to pay in lives to give such criminals the gift of their lives?
I'm
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: delalluvia on March 09, 2007, 08:24:15 am ---If we waited for a perfect system so that no innocent would ever accidentally be punished, we'd never have a justice system.
--- End quote ---
True, but the same could be said in reverse for a system without capital punishment. If we waited for a perfect system so that no guilty person would ever accidentally be freed, we'd never have a justice system. But at least we wouldn't be doing the killing ourselves.
--- Quote ---Someone famous once said something like, 'It's better that 9 guilty men go free than have 1 innocent person jailed'. Of course, that was said back in the day when communities were smaller and people didn't have atomic weapons and one person flying a plane could conceivable kill over 10,000 people with one act.
--- End quote ---
True, but that's not a description of most people on death row. The guy whose case you referred to killed someone with a broomstick.
Sheriff Roland:
Though Truman certainly brought realism ta the equation, it still remains an archaic system of metting out justice, one that has been rejected by most civilized nations. In just how many countries is execution still bein discussed - where capital punishment still exists?
C'mon people, move on up to the 20 th century. You'll only be a couple a decades behind the rest a the world.
Killing is wrong. State sanctioned killing is worse.
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