death penalty

[Acriku]

It isn't cruel now because they have the choice of lethal dosage execution. And it isn't unusual becuase it's happening all the time, and has been in our history for the longest of time.

[Inoculator9]

That depends on how you define unusual. I don't think it can defined, atleast in that context, on the frequency of these occurences.

[Acriku]

Well this hasn't changed from any supreme court verdict, so someone must have an idea why it isn't unusual.

[Inoculator9]

Becuase their lives are worth less compared to honest law abiding citizens?

[Acriku]

Their right to live has dwindled a bit since they broke the law, and struck themselves of being a citizen.

[Inoculator9]

Then imprison them, and they wont live as citizens at all. Prisons could be expanded up or levels could be incorporated underground, it would even provide jobs for gaurds and workers. It could be financed if taxes were raised $5 a year. Thats an expense of about one penny a day.

[Acriku]

We just recently (Florida) raised sales tax to .07, and we are coping fine, so raising taxes a bit wouldn't do too much damage, so I agree that would help a lot.

[Inoculator9]

Yeah, $5 would turn a profit of about 1.5 billion dollars, which I would say is probably enough to fund the construction or extension of prisons, and once that is completed it could be lowered to 2 or 3 dollars and become the added gaurds payment.

[Scrinlord]

I dont think we should spend any more money on convicts. I thinkw we should spent less. if they are going to be in prison for life, it should not be any sort of comfortable place. it shuld absolutly SUCK to be there, and they should have NO RIGHTS once they are convicted, except the right to converse with an attorney(possible appeals) and visits from their family(more for the comfort of their family than them)

They should be fed and clothed enough to keep them healthy, and we should not starve them, but they should not get "good" stuff either.

[Acriku]

We don't want it to be so bad that they might kill themselves ;) We wouldn't want that now would we.

[Scrinlord]

nope ::)

[Inoculator9]

Again, you cant put a pricetag on a life. If spending 5 or 10 bucks would save a life then I would pay it in a second. Everyone deserves the right to live out there life and be given the chance to repent or regret their actions before they die, even if their lives are already essentially over and they can no longer contribute to society. That is one thing that they have a right to. Those people should be pitied, because they have been molded by cirumstance into the people they end up as. They do deserve punishment, yes, but they do also deserve the right to regret their actions, not just because they are in prison and had they not done it they would be out, but because they truelly regret having caused harm to others.

[Acriku]

Well the whole point of this huge punishment, is to keep people from actually committing the crime, to scare them silly to where they wouldn't kill somebody.

[Scrinlord]

ya, but most people that are sentenced to death to not truly regret their actions. I agree that most people should be given the chance to repent and live out their lives, but I draw the line when "living out their lives" means taking someone elses life.

I would love for everyone to be able to live, but I would rather kill one person who justly deserves it, than let him live and several inoccents die in his place.

[Inoculator9]

Then it wouldn't be a punishment, it would be a reformation. I'll never say that those kind of people don't deserve some sort of punishment, but deadmen don't learn lessons.

[Scrinlord]

and for half the people on death row, the only lessons they would learn are how to commit the crime better so they dont get caught next time.

[Inoculator9]

Yeah, killing someone does not teach them a lesson.

[Acriku]

Such is human nature :) I do that all the time, figure ways of not getting caught, of course nothing illegal ;)

[Inoculator9]

Self preservation is quite a priority for us humans ;) We always seeking to preserve our credibility so that we can get more leeway and do more things we shoudln't.

[Scrinlord]

exactly!

So why should we let someone live who cannot be reformed, and is a possible menace to society? Keeping them in jail is not all that much of a punishment for what they did.

[Inoculator9]

I think that you would have to spend time in a prison before you can adequately judge how bad they are. No one here can truelly know what it must be like to know that you are going to be imprisoned for the rest of your life. I would find the prospect horrifying and intolerable. In prison a lesson is learned, and the prospect of a return acts as a deterant for most. To rule out the possibilty of killers getting back out more rigorous psych tests could be divised and when sentences are pronounced they should allow for increases in the length of imprisonment. This way if someone is deemed unfit for return, their sentence is extended.

[Acriku]

I think prisons act also as a way to tell them what they have coming to them if they get caught again. For most it is a horrible experience, I assume, so it leaves a bad impression on their minds and will always come to that stop before doing a crime. Then again there are some whackos who spend their lives doing things and working on how not to get caught.

[Scrinlord]

psych tests are a bunch of crap if you are half competent and know what you are doing. you can fool a psych test into saying any damn thing you want it to say.

I think prison would suck too, but I still think it is too good for some of those people.

[Inoculator9]

Those are the people that the system would have to work to prevent.

[Scrinlord]

what kind of people, the murderous ones?