We don't enact capital punishment laws so that others may feel better. That was never the purpose for it in the first place. We are not like the perpetrators of the crime. It is hypocritical of us to say that murder is wrong, and then turn around and design methods to match that of the murderer we condemn.

If our system were perfect, then I would be for the death penalty. But since it is not and can never be, then enacting a perfectly undo-able sentence does not make sense.

As for victims families, mourn for them. But we do not legislate for their emotional goodwill. Emotional micromanagement is silly. Let them see a psychiatrist.

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lambaste me not

You see capital punishment as barbaric. I see it as a way for preventive measure for future crimes. this is the way i see it; if we make an example out of a murderer, then the crime rate for a crime punished my capital punishment will drop....this is how i see it. I mean look at all the mass murderers in prison ex: Charlie Manson being one example. or son of Sam.

Just my point of view. You are entitled to your own views and I respect that even though i may not agree with it.

I actually do not see it as barbaric. I see it as a punishment that a seriously flawed justice system has no business playing with.

As far as a way to prevent crime. That argument is far more valid than the "What about the victim" plea which supposes that we must put people to death to satisfy the anger and hurt of victim's families. Capital punishment should not be a form of emotional treatment for victim's families. This is law not psychiatry.

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lambaste me not

Dem was saying that a person who has never witnessed an execution cannot know the emotions of the expereince and I was offering a counterpoint to his specific point. I was not trying to defend the entire process by bringing up the emotions of the victim's families. Before you answer my statements, you might want to read a little more closely.

I agree some innocent people are put to death wrongly, but I hope you have the intellectual honestly to admit that some guilty people are released over technicalities or flaws in the system and these criminals commit more crimes and create more victims. If you just look at one side of the issue, then its easy to distort things. Wouldn't you agree?

Lets see if anyone can compare the proven innocent who have been punished with the victims of repeat offenders who were released on technicalities or released early for whatever reason. If the additional victims are higher than the innocent convictions, then we have to ask ourselves if its not better to err on the side of caution.

I may be taking this a step further than you would, but I think the best way to make the death penalty more of a deterrent is to make it more public and more brutal. Also, turn prisons into forced labor camps so we could afford to keep more violent criminals in for the full sentence. Looking at 20 years in prison is not so bad when you can get out in 4 years. But if you are facing 20 years of hard labor, then maybe its not such an acceptable risk.

That is true, but what is the connection between people getting off free and the death penalty? All that really proves is how flawed our system is. In fact thank you for strengthening my point by underscoring the amount of mistakes our system makes, and how undoable sentences don't make sense in a system that sets guilty people free and executes innocent ones.

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lambaste me not

I'm not saying I'm against the death penalty. I just feel that if you condemn someone to be executed than you should have to follow through and witness it. Putting a human being to death should never be easy. It should be gruesome and disturbing and hard to bear. If you can follow through with it, then by all means go ahead and sentence someone to death. If not, if you can't go to the execution of a man you sent to his death and walk away proud of your choice, then maybe you shouldn't have amde that choice.

-Demosthenes

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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

When taken out of context, a lot of things can support any argument.

I said, lets compare the people who are wrongly convicted with those we are victimized by repeat offenders who should not have been released. Let the people decide when they see the numbers for themselves.

Personally, I have a very low threshold for crimes such as murder, rape or child molestation. If you are comfortable with releasing a certain number of guilty convicts to protect the rights of one innocent one, then thats where you draw the line and where we differ.

Not once did I advocate letting anyone go. My issue is with the Death Penalty, not with harsh sentences. Those crimes such as murder, rape, or child molestation are about the most horrible things I can imagine. If someone is found guilty, lock them up and throw away the key. I even even with the idea of labor camps that you suggested. I may discover someday that I can watch a man be executed and still feel justified. My point is that I just couldn't sentence a man to death without seeing the consequences of my choices.

-Demosthenes

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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

No need to defend yourself from comments not directed at you.