I am, of course, opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances- yes, even for Saddam Hussein- so his death sentence led me to start a poll to see what, on this site, the consensus on the death penalty is. I don't wish to debate the issue, since, as with abortion, it is pointless to try to change anyone's mind on it. I do, however, appreciate all votes and replies. Thank you very much.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)

if you ask me I think all felons should be executed, they would serve as an example to the other would-be criminals saying that if your gonna break the law, youre gonna pay for it buddy!

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The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.-Adolf Hitler

Murder, attempted murder, and treason. I might come up with another crime which would warrant execution. I'll think about it.

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

I am opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances (except, and this has been noted in PF by me before, in the case of Boy Bands, but even there I am not too sure of my stance)

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“When in doubt, do the courageous things”

Jan Smuts

Only Murder and Treason. I dont count self defense or the defense of others as murder.

Attempted Murder and Sexual Predation are very bad, but they are not the same thing as an actual murder or treason.

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Treason? When was the last time anyone was convicted of that? I don't think we'll be offing too many people under that statute.

My problem with the death penalty is that our justice system is not all that impressive. You can end up killing someone who did nothing. So I would say for first degree murder it's acceptable as long as the evidence is iron clad.

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I'm against the death penalty in all cases except when it is possible for the person, even imprisoned in solitary confinement, to cause further damage. This is generally only possible with dictators and certain high-level terrorists.

I also think anyone who is going to be imprisoned for life without any chance of parole should be allowed to opt for the death penalty.

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Are you going to vote "wartime emergencies only"?

If, in general, you don't believe in the death penalty, there could be a problem with that. The state might "encourage" euthanasia to save money and so create a de facto death penalty.

I agree that attempted murder should be considered just as evil as murder, since the intent is the same. Therefore, if I believed in executing murderers, I would believe in executing attempted murderers at least in principle. There is a problem, though. Dead is dead, and that someone was murdered is relatively easy to establish. However, attempted murder is harder to prove. If someone goes after another person with a gun, knife, ax or some other obviously lethal weapon, then it is clearly a case of attempted murder.
However, the line between felony assault and attempted murder is a blurry one. If one person goes after another with a pipe, is that attempted murder? What about a baseball bat? Does it depend on how physically resilient the would-be victim is? That is why, I believe, murder is distinguished from attempted murder. The potential variables in establishing that murder was the intent when no one died are innumerable.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)

Somewhere in the Constitution, there's a passage which has been interpreted to mean that a person cannot be tried for the crime they tried to commit - only the crime they actually committed. I disagree with that interpretation. I believe it's talking about thinking about committing a crime or even planning one, but never actually taking any physical steps to commit one.

There are already many nuances in murder charge. 1st degree, 2nd degree, negligent, etc. The level of intent is always part of the charge, and often part of the jury's decision. Take the case of the teenage girl who was raped, bludgeoned, had her arms cut off below the elbows and was left in a ditch to die. The jury should have been given the option of the death penalty. As it happened, the perp served about 8 years, was paroled, and ultimately killed another woman who wasn't as "lucky" as his first victim. Allowing the death penalty for attempted murder simply gives the option to juries. I just gave one example. If a prosecutor wants to go for the death penalty in a baseball bat case, he would need to prove that the perp knew that death was a likely result - the intelligence or education of the defendent could come into play. The jury can decide.

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

In the case you mentioned, the issue is that the criminal was obviously an extreme sadist. Such people (rapists, child molesters, and so forth) have to be locked in supermaximum prisons for life with no chance of parole, since they by nature re-offend. Personally, I support mandatory sentencing for only two kinds of criminals: Murderers and sexual predators. If I believed in the death penalty, I would execute both, but since I don't, I think that life in supermaximum prison with no chance of parole (and castration for the predators) is the appropriate sentence.
As for attempted murder, there are just too many gray areas to allow for mandatory sentencing. Of course, some would wonder how I would make room for the people I would give life in prison. I'd take many laws off the books and release certain other criminals far sooner. That is for another thread, though.

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"Some people complain about the system. The system is not good, so they can't do anything. It's an excuse. Freedom is in your heart." (Jin Xing)