I saw a headline “Killer dies after botched execution” and thought, “hmmm, if he died, it sounds like a successful execution, not a botched one.”
Then I read the article, and you know the story.
I start thinking about it, and to me it comes down to: What is the purpose of the death penalty? Is it to get the criminal off the street? Or is it supposed to be a deterrent? I think it should be both.
I don’t think they should wait years from the time the sentence is passed down to the time it is carried out, either. I think it should be within a pre-determined time, 3 days, 30 days….
Also, what’s the problem with lethal injections? Veterinarians have been putting down large animals for years and years with no problems. Get the local vet to do it.
I don’t really see the necessity for this “no suffering” law. I mean, even hanging has to hurt for a second. Electric chair probably hurts the most. I guess the no suffering law indicates the death penalty is to be a way to get the criminal off the street, and not a deterrent to potential criminals. I think that’s wrong thinking. I think it should be a deterrent, big time. If I go to work late, I get in trouble, that’s why I don’t go in late. It’s not because I’m dedicated or any crap like that. It’s the consequences that keep me in line for some things… I think… lemme think about that some more.
I think that if the death penalty is to be a deterrent, it needn’t be painless, I’m not saying torture or anything like that, but something no potential criminal would want, like hanging or decapitation (even one bullet costs too much). I don’t think it should be “if you kill someone, the penalty will be that you will painlessly go to sleep forever”. If the purpose of the death penalty is to get the criminal off the street, then the death penalty is unnecessary. They’ll be off the street in prison.
The death penalty is a very strong statement, I think that statement is: “You have done something so bad that society has determined you don’t get to exist on this planet any more. You do not deserve any enjoyment, not even as small an enjoyment as reading a book or laughing at a joke in prison. You will cease to exist for your crime.” To me, that’s the punishment, AND the deterrent.
I heard Cayman Islands used to have the death penalty, hanging was the method.
That being said, HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!
We don’t have the death penalty over here so we can’t really comment. We did however read the story as it did make the newspaper over this side of the pond. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
it is a tough subject, but i agree that they wait too many years for the sentence to be carried out. i don’t agree with your very short window – there HAS to be chances for appeal. there would be innocent people put to death without it. our legal system is not infallible, sadly.
In one sense, I do not believe in the death sentence. I feel that if you take a life, then your life should be forfeit to the family of the victim. You would become a slave…for life. Only if the family did not want you, then you are to be disposed, because then…truly you would have no place in this world.
Like stealing. The Turks back in the day would chop off digits or entire hands if you were caught stealing. I sort of agree with this style of punishment.
The problem truly is, that we have people who want to differentiate killing. The Convict is a murderer. But because we give the death penalty in a “Humane” fashion, we are not murders, we are dispensers of justice. With this I do not agree….