One of the arguments given by people who are against the death penalty is that it doesn't deter serious crimes such as murder, for example. Do you think the possibility of being sentenced to life in prison deters such crimes?

It's not about deterrence. It's about the state not murdering people then bizarrely claiming private citizens shouldn't commit murder. It's about joining the overwhelming majority of civilized countries that have put a stop to the medieval practice.

Exactly, jcapan! Just to add, a person incorrectly imprisoned with a lifetime sentence can at least be let out. The state cannot make someone incorrectly executed less dead.

I frankly find it bizarre that some people fixate on the deterrence aspect of criminal punishment. That must mean that for the people advocating for the death penalty, one of the main things stopping them from going on a killing spree must be the fear of getting caught and executed for doing it.

It’s not what I think, it’s what is happening. A life or death sentence has not deterred murder or murders would have disappeared 3,000 or 4,000 years ago.

It’s not what I think, it’s what is happening. A life or death sentence has not deterred murder or murders would have disappeared 3,000 or 4,000 years ago.

That doesn’t describe a deterrent, it describes an antidote.

If someone murdered one of my loved ones, I would feel happy knowing they are dead. I am not allowed to carry out murder by myself (though I would, if it were legal), therefore I have to rely on the state to do it. The death penalty is a good thing for the kind of human detritus that murders innocent people. Bleeding-heart SJWs can go and have a cry about something else.

I don’t think the threat of life in prison will deter anyone. Who can possibly imagine what life in prison means unless you’ve already spent life in prison?

I hope that incarceration is meant to keep dangerous people - violent people who don’t even consider punishment - off the street. Accountants who embezzle, stockbrokers who swindle clients, politicians who take bribes calculate the odds of getting caught and act, or not, accordingly. They commit crime but don’t produce fear.

crime prevention no, but it will deter the criminal in repeating horrible offense again. I feel safer on the streetwith one less savage criminal lurking in the shadows. A dead criminal is better than a living one.

There is no argument that can justify the death penalty.

State murders, death squads, random killings, pre-meditated murder - it has no place in this age.

The death penalty is certainly no more of a deterrent than a life sentence, and so describing the death penalty that way is false and is one of the reasons not to have it. But there are other reasons: impossibility of reversal in cases of error, and reducing the whole of society to the same level of 'killers' being the two main ones.

The death penalty is not a deterrent at all. In fact, it's more like we take on their sin by committing the same act. Life is prison is a deterrent for sure. That's painful and hard. It's still inhumane but it's a deterrent nonetheless.

In my opinion, the death penalty should be used for the most heinous of crimes, ie Asahara Shoko, the leader of Aum.

Any prison system that does not seek to rehabilitate individuals, is a prison at fault. Crimes are committed every single day. This does not mean that the individual is 100% to blame. We like to think that life is black and white simple because it allows us to sleep at night. Apathy is the fertile soil upon which weeds grow.

Lastly, the worst thing we could have ever made is a justice system that profits from criminal acts or acts as a springboard for those who seek higher office. "Lock them up and throw away the key" doesn't just mean incarcerate them for life. It also means to care nothing for that individual or how that individual came to be. Do you sweep the dust under your rugs at home? Probably not, so therefore we should not do that to humans.

The possibility of being sentenced to prison and being forced to listen to Maxine Waters' ridiculous babbling for 16 hours a day for even just one week would deter just about any crime.

The possibility of being sentenced to prison and being forced to listen to Maxine Waters' ridiculous babbling for 16 hours a day for even just one week would deter just about any crime.

Cruel or unusual punishments are strictly forbidden. But ... would such a punishment be called “Waters boring”?

Answer to the question: Absolutely not. In war, it's kill or be killed. In civilian life it should be the same, in reverse. The only problem with the death penalty is the time it takes to execute the sentence. Pardon the pun.

Deterrence is not the point. Someone like Shojo Asahara has broken the social contract by which the rest of us are supposed to live. And not just by accident or in any way that could be mistaken. He demonstrated blantant animosity toward human life.

Forget imprisonment or rehabilitation, how about he compensates those whose lives he selfishly destroyed. Killing him once didn’t do it justice.

I've never heard of any criminal who was executed go on to commit another single crime.

Pros of death penalty:

It alleviates the pain for some families and loved ones of the victims of the crime.

Cons:

It doesn't deter crimes.

It can end up killing the wrong person.

It ends up costing the state more time and money when you consider the lengthy appeals process.

It doesn't alleviate the pain for all families and loved ones of the victims.

MrBumToday  10:30 am JST

Pros of death penalty:

It alleviates the pain for some families and loved ones of the victims of the crime.

You made a good post, but I wonder if this can even be said to be true. Do we have evidence supporting it? I know there are a lot of people who say that an execution would alleviate their pain, but have any studies been done to see if that actually happens? Or are we just going to let the state make life-ending decisions on the basis of nothing more than taking an emotionally distraught person at their word?

I know there are a lot of people who say that an execution would alleviate their pain, but have any studies been done to see if that actually happens?

I agree, there's no evidence, but I feel there are certain crimes so heinous that if the culprit is proven without a shadow of a doubt, death is an apt punishment. That said, due to the cons I listed and imperfect nature of the justice system where wealth and influence can determine judgements, we shouldn't leave it open as an option in my opinion.