Our BetterMost Community > The Polling Place
Do You Support The Death Penalty?
Mikaela:
I voted the closest available option for my view, so I voted "no".
But what I really would have liked to have voted, is:
NO!!!
That there is such a wide-spread acceptance and support - indifference at best - for the death penalty in the US astounds, depresses and discourages me. I can't understand it. In my view it's inhumane, cruel, unethical, open to errors that can never be redressed....it devalues human lives. It dehumanizes whoever sentences someone to death or carries out the sentence. Luckily, where I live the death penalty is so far off the political map that I can't conceive of it ever being discussed even as a remote possibility.
moremojo:
Mikaela, the spirit of Beccaria has found voice through you.
David In Indy:
Thanks to everyone who has participated in this poll thus far. I find everyones comments very interesting and valid.
I'm especially pleased so many of our Euro and other non American Brokies have weighed in on the subject. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I think it's very interesting and important to learn of everybody's opinions on the death penalty regardless of whether or not they live in the United States.
Let's also remember to respect each person's opinion, even though these opinions may differ greatly from our own. Capital punishment is a hot topic in the US, and emotions often run high when it's discussed. I appreciate everyone remaining civil and friendly as it is being debated. I hope this will continue. I do not support the death penalty, but this doesn't mean I can't appreciate and even learn from those people who support it. I think we all have valid reasons for feeling the way we do. Those who support the death penalty feel strongly for the victim and his or her family. Those of us who oppose the death penalty also feel for the victim and the family, but we also believe two wrongs do not make a right. Both groups show a very high level of compassion.
The people I REALLY worry about are those who simply don't care one way or the other. ???
HerrKaiser:
Beccaria had no conception of the types of crimes our current society is dealing with. Death penalites and torture that he addressed were metted out for stealing bread, not going to church and other minor infractions that we do not even consider infractions today. I think if he had a view of our current crime and so-called justice system, his opinions would be quite different than those expressed over 200 years ago.
The idea that "love mirrors love.." is a philospophy of hope that may prevail in reality for raising children in stable homes, but has not proven to be a very good guardian of personal safety on the street where most crime is commited and for which society and victims feel punishment is appropriate. My Jewish relatives thought being passive would save them and they were slaughtered. The crime victims who are mercilessly gunned down in spite of begging for their lives presented no hate. Sharon Tate did not spew hate. The list goes on for decades.
HerrKaiser:
--- Quote from: Mikaela on October 19, 2007, 04:36:23 pm ---I voted the closest available option for my view, so I voted "no".
But what I really would have liked to have voted, is:
NO!!!
That there is such a wide-spread acceptance and support - indifference at best - for the death penalty in the US astounds, depresses and discourages me. I can't understand it. In my view it's inhumane, cruel, unethical, open to errors that can never be redressed....it devalues human lives. It dehumanizes whoever sentences someone to death or carries out the sentence. Luckily, where I live the death penalty is so far off the political map that I can't conceive of it ever being discussed even as a remote possibility.
--- End quote ---
Interestingly, all these points are used frequently by anti-abortion proponents. I wonder if the strong feelings here against capital punishment also align behind the pro-life people?
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