The Death Penalty... Yes? or No?

[Sniffer]

Well let's hear it.... does evil incarnate deserve to live or die?

[PNSONR]

i'm afraid the death penalty is a violation of human rights

[Sniffer]

so whose human rights are more important?? the rights of the people being murdered in their homes or on the streets? the rights of the victim's families? the rights of the tax payers whose hard earned dollars are paying for the murderer's shelter, clothing, food and cable TV? or the rights of the murderer?

[past7]

Two wrongs do not make a right. No human being has the right to take anothers' life. Period.

[Sniffer]

personally i think you have to weigh the rights of the many against the rights of the individual... who incidentally is the one who chose to take away therights of the person who was murdered. and the rights of the families of the victim. and the rights of the tax payers to chose where their dollars are spent. i'd rather have my tax dollars supporting education, health care and a whole host of other important issues, than being spent on some loser in a prison that is more like a country club.

[snail]

a saying i like:

I don't know if the death penalty stops people from killing, but it without a doubt stops that person from killing again.

[snail]

okay now to get more serious, one liners and catchy phrases don't look as deep into an issue and look past things that are important:

it is a known fact, at least in America that how justice works for you depends largely on your skin color, the amount of money you have, and your overall demeanor.

Why do you think good lawyers get such an amazing wage while poor lawyers are a dime a dozen.

There has never been an upperclass white male put to death by the death penalty.

And another thing....the issue has less to do with human rights to me than fairness. And when human beings are the ones judging I have zero faith in their decisions. If one innocent person is put to death that is a violation of the principles our judicial system stands by. Some famous well respected white man once said "It's better that 100 guilty people go free than one innocent person be put in prison". I would bet anyone here that at least one innocent person has been put to death because he had a shitty government appointed lawyer who didn't give a shit about the outcome.

I'll have more to say later...i lost my train of thought

[R@nt In~E~Minor]

Scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments. The most recent survey of research findings on the relation between the death penalty and homicide rates, conducted for the United Nations in 1988 and updated in 1996, concluded: "Research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment and such proof is unlikely to be forthcoming. The evidence as a whole still gives no positive support to the death penalty as a deterrent.

Right now, more than 3,500 inmates sit on Death Row in America. Almost all are poor, and a wildly disproportionate number are people of color. In addition, most had legal representation that ranged from inadequate to grossly incompetent.

The imposition of the death penalty is racially biased. Nearly 90% of persons executed were convicted of killing whites. In Illinois, Oklahoma and North Carolina killers of white victims are 4 times more likely to receive the death penalty than the killers of black victims. In Mississippi they are 5 times more likely; in Maryland, they are 7 times more likely. A glance at the gallows or the prosecutor's docket will verify the problem. As of January 1, 1997, African Americans made up 11 of the 13 people executed by the state of Alabama. African-Americans make up half of the death row populations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Delaware, Mississippi, and Virginia; over two-thirds of the people on death row in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Louisiana; and more than 3 out of 4 people waiting to be executed in Federal and US Military prisons.60% of the persons on death row in California and Texas are either Black, Latino, Asian or Native American. 90% of the people US government prosecutors seek to execute are Black or Latino.

Anyone see a pattern emerging here??







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[This message has been edited by R@nt In~E~Minor (edited February 06, 2001).]

[~((resonance))~]

I once saw a bumper sticker that read this:

"Why is it that we kill people who kill people to teach them not to kill people"

Is it a double standard??

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....constanly listening to the sound of life....surfing on sound waves and smiling bright...


The Sonic Lounge

~electronic BASSment~

[Myra]

Sometimes i see a crime that just breaks my heart and i think the one who commits it deserves to die....but then there is that thought in the back of my mind... What if they were wrongfully accused. I mean it happens doesnt it? SO we kill someone who was innocent and let the real bad guy get away... and its true we get upset because someone kills someone...so what do we do? Kill em back? Seems a lil like bashing our heads against the wall doesnt it?

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Everyone thinks i am insane.... all but my friends deep inside the earth......