".death penalty opponents have a major stake in convincing people that the system deals adequately with criminals short of killing them, and that an abolition of the death penalty won't lead to other dubious European practices, such as gun confiscation, short sentences for violent criminals, and an emphasis on punishing citizens for acting in self-defense against criminals, all of which is widespread in the death-penalty-free European countries. This will be difficult, because many, though by no means all, death penalty opponents are soft on criminals.".
Good point. Can't add anything of substance to that one.
"If death penalty cases, subject to far more rigorous safeguards than ordinary criminal cases, still manage to convict the innocent, how many innocent people are convicted of crimes that don't carry the death penalty? Far too many, I would imagine. Some of the safeguards proposed for death penalty cases " like requiring that all questioning of suspects by police be videotaped, or that all defendants have access to DNA evidence that might clear them " should be applied to criminal cases across the board.".
This is a problem between the people who are upset that the world isn't perfect and those who simply try to get as close as possible. The proposed safeguards will cost a huge pile of money, money that the government doesn't have. It's only the very few questionable cases where DNA tests are used because of the expense. Videotape is an idea that many people who've never had a job in law enforcement favor, but it's simply asinine when one considers the rules of evidence. Defense lawyers would tear any video record taken by the police to shreds in a heartbeat.
Anyway, this is a rather long and rambling post, but I think it gives a few of you an insight into my position.
Posted by James R. Rummel at September 28, 2003 09:34 PM .
Comments.
If you asked me to identify the biggest single problem we had with our justice system, I'd probably surprise the heck out of you by saying that it's that our prison conditions are inhumane.
It stands for the total abolition of the death penalty but allows states parties to retain the death penalty in time of war. ... Some states have already abolished the death penalty. ... Some people think the death penalty is fair. ... The death penalty is a global issue. ... The death penalty isn't a way to prevent crime. ...
DEATH PENALTY The death penalty has existed as long as humans have existed. ... There have been many comparisons of crime rates of death penalty states to non-death penalty states. ... Michigan, Ohio and Illinois all have the death penalty. ... In 1994, the average murder rate in death penalty states of a population of 100,00 was 8.0, for a non-death penalty state, 4.4. ... In 1976 Canada got rid of the death penalty. ...
The penalty has been a very controversial topic ever since it came to be. ... Currently, there have been over 1,000 deaths due to the death penalty since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center). ... There are many different forms of execution used in the death penalty. ... Three years later in 2009, New Mexico repealed the death penalty. ... The Catholic religion is the religion most against the death penalty. ...
I am against the death penalty. ... "A new survey by the New York Times found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty" ("Facts" 6). ... My last reason for my opposition to the death penalty is its constitutionality, whether or not the death penalty should be legal. ... "The Death Penalty on Trial." ... "Debating the Death Penalty." ...
The Old Testament clearly calls for the death penalty on many occasions. ... Statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center (1997) show that the death penalty does not really deter crime. When comparisons are made between states with the death penalty and states without it, the majority of the death penalty states show murder rates higher than non-death penalty states. ... In 1996, death penalty states averaged a rate of 7.1 criminal homicides per 100,000, while non-death penalty states averaged a rate of 3.6 (Death Penalty Information Center, 1997). ... By imposing the death penalty ind...
(Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty Website) The main argument that advocates for the death penalty have is that the death penalty deters crime, that the threat of execution is enough to make criminals think twice about committing a capital crime. ... Clearly, by the time he has decided to commit his crime, he has already disregarded other forms of punishment besides the death penalty, such as lengthy imprisonment. ... Also, states that do not have a death penalty experience lower number of murders each year than that of the states who do. (National Coalition to Abolish th...
-Contact Death Penalty Focus. ... -Start a Death Penalty Focus chapter at your school. ... -Attend national conferences on death penalty organizing. ... What Teachers Can Do -Use the Death Penalty Information Center's curriculum for educators in your classroom! ... Death Penalty Focus can help you find many excellent speakers. ...
One way people are being deprived of their rights is the use of the death penalty. The death penalty is often used to kill people who have committed murder. ... The death penalty is not a surefire way to punish criminals. ... Jury members may avoid the death penalty for this very reason. ... If the death penalty does not deter crime, why should there have a death penalty? ...
The death penalty protects society because if the murderers are executed, they are no longer on the streets (The Death Penalty). ... Studies show that by increasing the death penalty by one percent, it would prevent one hundred and five murders (The Death Penalty). ... Why the society defends the death penalty. ... Arguments of those who oppose the death penalty. ... Concluding thoughts of reinstating the death penalty....
The Death Penalty I. ... "The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. ... The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. ... The death penalty does not fit into this vision of justice for all. ... The death penalty is final, irrevocable. ...
