Capital Punishment

[Highway Man]

Should we now bring it back? No government seems to want to but what about for people who beyond a shadow of a doubt are guilty of severe crimes, such as Murder, Violent Rape, child abduction and paedophile for those who would receive life sentences, Death sentence only handed out to those who are 100% guilty. Nobody mourned over Huntley when another inmate murdered him, so why not sentence him to death in the first place.

 

[motorbiking]

Some years ago I did some volunteering with a charity who help those wrongly convicted, fight their case. Too many people who often aren’t very bright can end up in prison mainly because they didn’t present well on trial and didn’t get access to good legal help. If you have capital punishment, you will run the risk of innocent people being executed.

That is the first problem.

The second is that with high stakes come high risk, if the sentence is death, then the perpetrators will escalate their violence to avoid capture.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

For me it's a no.

Couple of reasons.

Firstly, if prison is tough enough, to be locked up for years (although often not enough) is surely more of a punishment for them than being disposed of. How tough is prison? That's a whole other debate.

Secondly, I feel we need to be very careful when saying 100% guilty. There are folk who came under this category who were subsequently found to be innocent (or at the very least not enough evidence against them) and then released.

 

[Elsa TLC]

Kills then all, the long the short and the bald.

 

[pete01]

If the crime was caught on camera or 10 people witnessed it, making them 100% guilty then it's a yes from me.

Any doubt at all it has to be a no.

 

[Highway Man]

I am all for capital and corporal punishment, I think the punishment should fit the crime, obviously for any concerns over guilt is to be avoided and prison but this must be hard labour and not a soft option. Violent offences such as agravated burglary and theft of cars etc, should be met with lashes of substansial proportions to inflict not just pain but to mark the offender. I spent a bit of time in Thailand where they have very severe penantys for drugs and crime in general.

 

[Highway Man]

If you have capital punishment, you will run the risk of innocent people being executed.

Safe gaurds would need to be put in place where capital punishment could only be used for the found 100% guilty before they even reach a trial. Anything less than 100% must be a hard labour sentence.

 

[Highway Man]

Secondly, I feel we need to be very careful when saying 100% guilty. There are folk who came under this category who were subsequently found to be innocent (or at the very least not enough evidence against them) and then released.

But if they are found guilty before going to a court room like Huntley etc, through evidence and ~DNA as well as confessing then surely there could be very few who could be sentenced.

 

[blup]

I used to be against it because of the risk of hanging the wrong person but the wrong people are imprisoned which is not an argument for banning prison. It’s wrong in principle for the state to take a life. Also in many countries, like Chinna, the death penalty is used as a form of organ donation for high ranking party officials. And in America a white policeman has never been hanged for murdering a black suspect, so clearly a political element to it.