I'm against the death penalty for the simple reason that the justice system is imperfect. I think it's unacceptable to risk putting an innocent person to death in order to gain whatever 'benefit' there is in giving a murderer the death penalty. Life in prison is bad enough for an innocent person, but at least with that there is the possibility of being released upon finding new evidence. Whatever people think we gain by ending the life of a thousand murderers is not worth the cost of taking the life of an innocent person.

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"Some years ago I had a sobering realization about women, which was that there are just too many nice ones. One simply can't fall in love with, sleep with, or marry all the nice women...One of the saddening facts of life is that there is always going to be a delightful woman somewhere who, for whatever accident of timing or attraction, simply slips by and recedes to return only in a dream."
-Larry McMurtry in Roads

I would like people to answer two simple questions:

What is the purpose of the Justice System?

What is the purpose of the death penalty?

Determine innocence or guilt.
Rid society of the treat of additional instances the most horrible of crimes.

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Hope is the opposite of audacity. It's passive, an excuse for inaction.

Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

“What's the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama?”

“One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let's be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy.

“The other kills her own food.”

Does life without parole do just as well?

No. Life used to mean life until the prison budget got a little too high. There is nothing preventing another law to nullify LWOP. Moreover, what prevents the murderer from murdering again in prison ?

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Hope is the opposite of audacity. It's passive, an excuse for inaction.

Socialism doesn't create a rising tide that lifts all boats. It drains the lake and teaches the boat riders not to help themselves by rowing.

“What's the difference between Sarah Palin and Barack Obama?”

“One is a well turned-out, good-looking, and let's be honest, pretty sexy piece of eye-candy.

“The other kills her own food.”

Can you cite an example of that happening?

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All things serve The Beam

Expenses adressed above.
There is also nothing preventing a law that would give the death penalty to pick pockets. (Reasonable punishment is a loose term)

Umm, the fact that they don't have access to weapons... duh?

People kill each other in prison all the time. They usually use weapons of their own manufacture.

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All things serve The Beam

I'm sure that - on occasion - that's true. However, I work closely with police forces across the EU on occasion and even they complain that life sentences too often result in 10 years, sometimes as little as 7.

Obviously, there are examples of life meaning life (Hindly, Brady - who's not dead yet but can't see him ever walking the streets of England again) etc but all too often, those who commit horrific crimes are let out.... Wasn't there a serial killer who wrote a book about his hard life, became a huge celeb and got let out (after the 'intelligentsia' took up his case) and promptly killed a few more people before they threw his ass back inside?

As I've said, the DP works for me. I just think we need to apply it better.

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"On my signal, unleash hell."

Yes, but it's a lot harder than buying a gun and shooting at people.

Our prisons are overcrowded, we are letting dangerous people walk every day because theres just no more room. By executing the worst 5-10% we free up that much more room in prison for lesser offenders. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no evidence that we have ever executed an innocent person in the united states (in the 20th century at least) and I just don't see it happening in the future.

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"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb discussing what's for dinner.
Liberty is a well armed lamb willing to contest the majority decision!" ~ Benjamin Franklin
"Diplomacy is the art of saying Nice Doggie! while you're looking for a rock. ~ Wynn Catlin
"There are no innocent civilians." - Gerneral Curtis Lemay. A.K.A Bombs away Lemay

To protect the innocent from the guilty.

Quote:

What is the purpose of the death penalty?

Do you mean what should be the purpose of the death penalty?

I believe the only reason why the death penalty should ever be used is if a person poses a threat to society for just being alive.

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Remember the Turkey Genocide.

(1) Could you not just, y'know, build more prisons?

(2) Do you have sources for this?

Aren't there people out there who pose a threat to prison staff and other prisoners with their very existence? Surely they count.

It all depends on the methods used to keep the prisoner in check. If there is no possible way then perhaps it is necessary to use the death penalty.

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Remember the Turkey Genocide.