The Death Penalty

[jojo man]

My apologies for the misunderstanding of your words delphinus. As for wether or not I would still believe as I do if I were in the "condemned mans" position...I can't honestly say that I know(and I hope and believe that I never will). But regarding the punishment of those who have killed in cold blood, well like I said, I would let them rot in a cold and dark cell for the rest of their lives because it seems to me to be the harshest of the two punishments. It seems to me that having free-will and knowing what it is and knowing what it felt like to have and then not having the ability to act on it and knowing that you will never have that ability to act again, is a fate worse than death. To kind of rephrase what I said before, Life without freedom is less than pointless(in my opinion) - it's terrible, horrible, bad, and (to me) seems to remove the point of being alive in the first place.

[delphinus]

Then we think the same way, jojo man. I still think that condemning someone to death is worse than letting him rot in jail, but if someone has earned the jail for all his life, and then he decides to put an end to this, well, it's none of my business.

 

I'd also add some forced work for the worst crimes; it gives you the time to think of what you have done, and even if you will never redeem yourself, you make something useful for the others and (why not?) for yourself.

[Viblo]

I would choose death because to me life is about being free and I would honestly rather die than give up my freedom.

 

I don't think it's that easy.

Freedom can be so relative, think of this illustration: A goldfish in his glass bowl full of water can do everything he wants; he's completely free.

My point here is that you can make your own freedom, it might be a bit difficult in a situations like prison but it's possible.

 

I think forfeiting life with that kind of logic that easily is not rational.

 

Vif...

[crazydave]

I support the death penalty, and Ive got a few reasons why. First off I dont like that our tax dollars go towards taking care of fellons on life sentances, especally when our schools and roads could use the money alot more. Secondly Earth is headed towards an enevitable overpopulation crisis, so why do we keep all these criminalls around. I could probably come up with a few more reasons, but I think those two are good enough.

[jojo man]

I would choose death because to me life is about being free and I would honestly rather die than give up my freedom.

 

I don't think it's that easy.

Freedom can be so relative, think of this illustration: A goldfish in his glass bowl full of water can do everything he wants; he's completely free.

My point here is that you can make your own freedom, it might be a bit difficult in a situations like prison but it's possible.

 

I think forfeiting life with that kind of logic that easily is not rational.

 

Vif...

Well you make a good point in that freedom is relative and that we make our own. But did you read my next post? I went a little more in-depth as to what defines my freedom (having free-will), to me this means being able to go where I wish to go, or to do what I wish to do. Simply put: to make my own choices. If I was locked in a cell until the end of time, well, that (to me) would be worse than death.

[DecalMirror]

I would choose death because to me life is about being free and I would honestly rather die than give up my freedom.

 

I'm not arguing about your opinions, but just saying that I believe that case would not be so simple if you would really be in actual circumstance like you described. If you're forced to choose from such choices I'd bet you'd choose staying alive, though you opinion might change depending on the condition of that prison life.

 

 

I support the death penalty, and Ive got a few reasons why. First off I dont like that our tax dollars go towards taking care of fellons on life sentances, especally when our schools and roads could use the money alot more. Secondly Earth is headed towards an enevitable overpopulation crisis, so why do we keep all these criminalls around. I could probably come up with a few more reasons, but I think those two are good enough.

 

Taxes are always hard to use as an argument without actual statistics about their usage. Do you really know what death penalties costs compared to prison sentences? For that overpopulation, it'd be the same if I'd shoot you as I don't know you and I don't care about you(don't take this as personal offense..). For me it is all the same if it was you or some criminal who died as I don't know or care about any criminal either. My point here is that criminals are just as human as we are. Not all their doings are wrong and not all your doings are right. So what's the real reason for executing criminals?

[jojo man]

I would choose death because to me life is about being free and I would honestly rather die than give up my freedom.

 

I'm not arguing about your opinions, but just saying that I believe that case would not be so simple if you would really be in actual circumstance like you described. If you're forced to choose from such choices I'd bet you'd choose staying alive, though you opinion might change depending on the condition of that prison life.

 

I see where your coming from. Thats why i made the following statement in my post that followed the one from which my above statement was quoted.

As for wether or not I would still believe as I do if I were in the "condemned mans" position...I can't honestly say that I know(and I hope and believe that I never will).

 

As for the condition of the prison sentence...well, it might be worse to me than to some others. I , for instance, like to travel. So being trapped in prison might bother me more than it would someone who liked to stay home all day(although it wouldn't be a picnic for anybody). But I do have a suggestion for the conditions of the prison sentence for those who are proven guilty of cold-blooded murder: Lock them in a sound-proofed cell with a working toilet, a small cot, and a hole in the completely solid door to pass food and water through. Now leave them there, for the rest of their prison sentence. With all of their basic living needs met what else should be done for them? This seems to me to be what prison should be like for the most violent of criminals (locked in a tiny room with zero perception the outside world, listening to your fingernails grow). What are your thoughts on this(honest question)? Is the described treatment to harsh? Not harsh enough? I'd honestly like your opinion on this.

[Viblo]

I would choose death because to me life is about being free and I would honestly rather die than give up my freedom.

 

I don't think it's that easy.

Freedom can be so relative, think of this illustration: A goldfish in his glass bowl full of water can do everything he wants; he's completely free.

My point here is that you can make your own freedom, it might be a bit difficult in a situations like prison but it's possible.

 

I think forfeiting life with that kind of logic that easily is not rational.

 

Vif...

Well you make a good point in that freedom is relative and that we make our own. But did you read my next post? I went a little more in-depth as to what defines my freedom (having free-will), to me this means being able to go where I wish to go, or to do what I wish to do. Simply put: to make my own choices. If I was locked in a cell until the end of time, well, that (to me) would be worse than death.

 

I kinda speed-read your post but from what I understood you mean that it's impossible to turn back on the life you had to the life you'll be having inside a cell. I still believe it's not impossible to start over again, a new life, of course different but make what you can with it, it's what you make of things that counts, it's just your head that is making all those good feelings you feel after all. Making what you can with what you have is a really big factor in being "smart" IMO.

 

Vif...

[jojo man]

I'm sorry if I wasn't very clear in my earlier posts. I meant that I saw death as a lesser punishment to life-imprisonment(I'm only 19 so for me that would be a looooooong time).If (for whatever reason) I was sentenced to 10 years in prison, then yes, I believe that I could go on with life after getting out. And I don't see a temporary sentence as being anywhere near as bad as death.

[crazydave]

Taxes are always hard to use as an argument without actual statistics about their usage. Do you really know what death penalties costs compared to prison sentences?

Honestly, if it costs more to kill someone than it does to feed, clothe, and shelter someone for over forty years, I smell a rat. That would have to be one of the worst cases of government overspending ever. Hundreds(if not thousands) of stray animals are euthinised everyday, and I have never heard of an animal shelter complaining about the cost.

For that overpopulation, it'd be the same if I'd shoot you as I don't know you and I don't care about you(don't take this as personal offense). For me it is all the same if it was you or some criminal who died as I don't know or care about any criminal either. My point here is that criminals are just as human as we are. Not all their doings are wrong and not all your doings are right. So what's the real reason for executing criminals?

No offence taken. Criminals with life sentences will never get out of prison, and pretty much all of them dont give a dam about anything. They contribute nothing to society. Right now there are millions of people in third world countries who have done nothing wrong, and yet many of them wold kill to have the same treatment as an American prisioner(no pun intended). So my question is: Can you realy look one of those starving Etheopians in the eyes and tell him he is less important than a man who brutally murdered his whole family.