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The State of Execution: What could change your mind about the death penalty?There have been four executions since Washington State reinstated the death penalty in 1981. On December 3, 2008, convicted murderer Darold Stenson may become the fifth prisoner executed. (Photo of hanging chamber, Washington State Penitentiary) Note: We may contact you for our on-air coverage.
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37 Answers
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It has often been discussed that the legal costs of proving a crimal guilty beyond any doubt and then progressing through umpteen trials and appeals actually costs more than simply putting him away for life.
Yet my mind remains firmly made up: those who preach their high morals have never had their morals tested. Every religion preaches sanctity of life but then hypocritically condones war and death for justice, allows murder in self-defense, and forgives its "holy warriors" when they go on their crusades. Why must a modern society such as ours continue to selectively read only the convenient passages from dusty 2000-year old fairytale books?
Man, the "steward of creation" has given himself free license to kill any other creature by violence, by pesticides, or by simply destroying habitats. When a "problem bear" continues to act as any bear would act before we showed up, everyone decides that the right thing to do is to commit bear-icide. Why is fellow man exempt from the same standard? Because man can talk? Because Jesus didn't ever specifically mention bears in his parables? If society has decided that any creature that kills must also be killed, then i simply don't see why mankind feels himself exempt.
Don't misinterpret my point -- as a society, we have to establish rules and regulations. We must teach our children morals and ethics, and we must treat each other with compassion (as every religion preaches). But ever since Romulus killed his brother Remus, there has been a class of people who cower away from enforcing laws effectively, and exacting equal punishment to the crime committed. Why, then, are we surprised when criminals frequently repeat crimes over and over? Certainly penalty of death must be considered as a last resort, but for the most hideous of convicted criminals, it is a perfectly ethical and moral judgement -- and a merciful action for all involved -- to send a wayward soul to meet his maker earlier than he himself would choose to go. Do you not trust in your god's judgement?
...I should also say that, as a realist, i also believe that any man who commits rape should be penalized by castration. I prefer simple, effective solutions rather than arguing about whose feelings might be hurt.
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It is sad that we even need to ask this question. There is no excuse for our governments barbaric behavior.
Murder is murder, whether committed by a civilian or through the system.# Thou shalt not kill. (Deuteronomy 5:17, KJV)
# Modern translations:* You shall not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17, NIV)
* You shall not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17, NASB)
* Do not put anyone to death without cause. (Deuteronomy 5:17, BBE)
* Do not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17, CEV)
* "'You shall not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 ESV)
* "'Do not commit murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 GNB)
* "Never murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 GW)
* "You shall not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 HNV)
* No murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 MSG)
* "You shall not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 WEB)
* 'Thou dost not murder. (Deuteronomy 5:17 YLT)1. to murder, slay, kill
1. (Qal) to murder, slay
1. premeditated
2. accidental
3. as avenger
4. slayer (intentional) (participle)
2. (Niphal) to be slain
3. (Piel)
1. to murder, assassinate
2. murderer, assassin (participle) (substantive)
4. (Pual) to be killed1. to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill
1. (Niphal) to be stricken or smitten
2. (Pual) to be stricken or smitten
3. (Hiphil)
1. to smite, strike, beat, scourge, clap, applaud, give a thrust
2. to smite, kill, slay (man or beast)
3. to smite, attack, attack and destroy, conquer, subjugate, ravage
4. to smite, chastise, send judgment upon, punish, destroy
4. (Hophal) to be smitten
1. to receive a blow
2. to be wounded
3. to be beaten
4. to be (fatally) smitten, be killed, be slain
5. to be attacked and captured
6. to be smitten (with disease)
7. to be blighted (of plants)1. to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand
1. (Qal)
1. to kill, slay
2. to destroy, ruin
2. (Niphal) to be killed
3. (Pual) to be killed, be slain1. to kill, slaughter, beat (verb)
1. (Qal)
1. to slaughter
1. beast for food
2. sacrifice
3. person in human sacrifice
4. beaten, hammered (of shekels)
2. (Niphal) to be slaughtered, be slain (of food or sacrifice)
2. (BDB) slaughtering (noun feminine)
1. word doubtful1. to die, kill, have one executed
1. (Qal)
1. to die
2. to die (as penalty), be put to death
3. to die, perish (of a nation)
4. to die prematurely (by neglect of wise moral conduct)
2. (Polel) to kill, put to death, dispatch
3. (Hiphil) to kill, put to death
4. (Hophal)
1. to be killed, be put to death
1. to die prematurely“While there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free”
“When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong.”
~Eugene Debs
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I am pleasantly surprised that on this forum, few support the death penalty. It is a barbaric practice and it does little to deter crime. We now know that some people put to death are innocent, and the taking of a life as retribution does little to heal or help the victims. A life spent in a cage contemplating one's crime is a appropriate horror all by itself, and it can be reversible to a degree if it turns out that the person being prosecuted is innocent.
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I can't imagine anything changing my conviction that the death penalty is wrong. We know it's expensive, ineffective, racist, unfair, and risky.
The death penalty is not about the perpetrators of crime -- it is about us, the citizens of the state of Washington. I do not want the state to kill in my name. I do not want my taxes to support capital punishment. I do not want to cause another family to suffer the unnecessary loss of a loved one. I do not want to be part of the machinery of death.
We have the mechanism for public safety, by keeping convicted murderers in prison for life without parole. We don’t need to kill them to be safe.
We know that the death penalty does not deter violent crime. Killing a convicted murderer will not persuade other would-be killers that killing is wrong.
We know that the death penalty is a violent reaction to a violent crime, and we know it becomes part of the cycle of violence rather than a part of rebuilding a sense of safety in our state.
No, I can't imagine changing my mind about the death penalty.
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It is hard to think of anything that would allow me to accept the death penalty. The death penalty has many appalling faults. It is hypocritical kill people for killing people.
The death penalty does not achieve any measureable goal. It is not a deterrant. It is a gross waste of money. It puts off closure as trials and appeals drag on. On the average, persons released on appeal have been incarcerated for seven years (many for over 20 years).
It is unfair and inconsistent: It is geographically disparate (some counties in Washington cannot afford death penalty trials); Innocent people are sentenced to death; Nearly every one sentenced to the death penalty has had publically appointed defense counsel; It is somewhat racist.
Some people say "an eye for an eye" justifies a death for a death. But how many people would actually propose taking an eye of someone who injured another's eye?
The main reason for the death penalty is revenge. And revenge is an unjustifiable motive. Putting murders to death is a barbaric practice that socially advanced countries do not use.0 0
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Nothing would change my mind. To me, this is a moral issue. Murder is not right. And how can we blame our children for being violent (and blame the *video games* they play) when the decisions that adults make only teach them that violence is the answer to one's problems? We go to war instead of choosing diplomacy, and we kill those offenders we don't know what else to do with. Nice lesson for the next generation.
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It has never made sense to me to punish someone for murder by killing them. The prison system has it all wrong in my opinion. From drugs to murder, the system of punishment will never change anything. We need to focus on rehabilitation.
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Nothing will change my mind regarding the death penalty. Not tomorrow, not in fifty years, there isn't anything that will change my mind.
The death penalty is not a positive influence on society, and never will be. Killing someone because they killed someone does not serve any usefull purpose, quite the opposite.
As a citizen of this state, I do not want the state to kill in my name. Whether someone is killed by the state, or one of the states citizens, killing someone in a carefully planned manner is premeditated murder.
Jeff
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Nothing will change my mind. I am originally from Germany, and in Europe we are still shocked how a civilized country such as the United States still does proceed with executions. There is proof that innocent people have been put to death, but there is no proven effect of the death penalty as a deterrent. One thing that I constantly miss in death penalty coverages: The suffering of the family of the convict. Imagine yourself with a close relative or friend on death row.. no matter if innocent or guilty. This is nothing but a lack of civilization, and I hope Washington state will be one of the next states to abolish this relict of the past as soon as possible.
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Nothing would change my mind about the death penalty. I have been opposed to the death penalty since childhood, and I have always believed in my heart that it is wrong. I also oppose it because it is meted out unfairly, and because innocent people have been executed. The government has no business killing people.
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As a dedicated human rights activist and humanitarian, I strongly oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. It was not right for the accused to have murdered someone. It is not right for the State to kill anyone either.
It has been proven time and time again that it does not deter murder, as most murders are crimes of passion, not premeditation. A truly just punishment for a person so anti-society as to kill another person would be isolation from society and all of its rewards for the duration of his/her days.
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Once one sees the humanity of the offender, one cannot in good conscience want the state to kill him or her. I am a professor of social ethics; harming another human being is always difficult to justify. Justifying executions is almost impossible to justify. There are other ways of satisfying the victim's family members, there are better ways of preventing more crime, there are better alternatives of making sure the wrongdoers get their "just deserts." Murderers deserve a strong response from the community, but there is no good reason why that response has to be lethal.
The golden rule does not say: "do unto others as was done unto you." We need to show that injustice can be responded to without violence.0 0
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NOTHING WOULD CHANGE MY MIND. I AM A FIRM SUPPORTER OF THE DEATH PENALTY. WHEN A PERSON HAS COMMITTED A CRIME HORRIBLE ENOUGH FOR THE DEATH PENALTY TO BE AN OPTION: THEY SHOULD PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES...YOU TAKE A LIVE, YOU GIVE YOURS IN RETURN.AN EYE FOR AN EYE.I BELIEVE IF PEOPLE HAD TO SUFFER THE PAIN THEY INFLICT ON THEIR VICTIMS, THERE WOULD BE LESS REOFFENDERS.JUST MY OPINION...WHICH WE ARE ALL ENTITLED TO...
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Nothing. I studied this issue in law school. There is no evidence that the death penalty has any impact on the crimes punishable by the death penalty. The only justification for it is vengence for the victims and/or society. Killing someone for vengence is still murder. Does society or do victims have the moral right to murder people? I do not think so.
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nothing. I will always be against it.
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[Billy 1 month ago]
One of the many things that *won't* change my mind about the need to abolish the death penalty immediately is its cost. Even after many studies, including a careful, well-publicized one conducted by this state's chief judge, have found that capital punishment costs millions of dollars more than life imprisonment, this remains a largely unknown fact. Now that we have one of our recurrent state budget crises, it should be time to realize that the death penalty is an expensive symbol, solving nothing, making no one safer, providing no comfort or "closure", and costing a huge and frivolous fortune that could be saved right now.0 0
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hypocites believe in the death penalty
there is no justice in it
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6124001.htmltomorrows entertainment at the us(roman)coliseum
http://www.kcadp.org/no death penalty discussion is worth its salt without the input of www.deathpenalty.org
both actor/activist/human being Mike Farrell www.mikefarrell.org and his protege and Washington state native Stefanie Faucher are well informed and worth listening to on this topic you can reach Stefanie at stefanie@deathpenalty.org
this is what i believe
it is one thing to kill another quickly while defending yourself and/or others
it is more criminal to kill another in a state of passion
it is worse than that to kill with premeditation
and killing again and again with premeditation is even worse
but the worst of all is premeditated murder by the state - a state that claims that killing is wrong and that it is just metting out justice
thats not justice - thats hypocrisy
this is true justice...
PPPPPPPPP...
prevention
parenting
policing and police protection
prosecution and protection(defense)
punishment
parenting (again)
prevention (again)
prison
parole
pardonnot every person can redeem themselves and earn parole or a pardon (their responsibility) if prison becomes part of the process
just as every person doesnt get adequate prevention or parenting at the appropriate times or policing or honest prosecution and effective protection(our responsiblity)
also our responsibity is an effective professional prison system with pyschiatric(personal) and performance(job training) programs that promote peace and progress within the prison and the persons therein
as the state has no say when a person is born it should have no say when that person will die - the state's (we the people) only responsibilty should be the P's listed above and the perpetual process of progress towards peace - there is no perfection in this world only the path to it
the death of anyone within a prison or without should be considered a crime and dealt with but death should never be the answer - it is the cowards way out whether it is wanted by the prisoner him/herself or by the people - the victims or victimes families may want such a thing but that is not justice - it is revenge - revenge is always simple and justice is always complicated
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I cannot, in good conscience, change my mind about the death penalty in large part because I am an educator and the one thing that educators know for sure is that our behavior teaches more powerfully than our words. We can say, as a community, that murder is wrong but if the state murders in cold blood because it wants to punish some terrible crimes, then we are teaching some people that if they are angry enough, if they feel wronged enough, it is permissible to kill. Killing should be absolutely wrong, for the community as well as for the individual. In no other way will we make killing another human being unthinkable.
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I oppose the death penalty. I cannot think of a thing that could change my mind. If I had a loved one murdered, I assume I would want to kill the person responsible, but I think that after time I would realize that his or her death would not ease my pain. I once heard a priest say, "I oppose the death penalty because I am for it." A civilized society is governed by reason, not impulse.
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I DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE DEATH PENALTY!!! THERE IS NOTHING RIGHT ABOUT MURDER!!!...EITHER WAY!!!
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Nothing. Human life is human life. It's not up to the state to decide when it ends. The death penalty is simply immoral, there's nothing to justify it.
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the death penalty is premeditated murder - and it often punishes those who murdered without premeditation - state sanctioned murder is the simplest and most innefective form of punishment - those who support it are either simpletons or con artists
if you had two sons and your eldest son killed your other son would you then kill your eldest son?
we are all family and when we start to treat eachother as such we will see true justice - michael
when the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace - Jimi Hendrix
the killing must stop - Martin Luther King Jr
www.troyanthonydavis.org
www.stopchildexecutions.com
www.savedelara.com0 0
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The two requirements of a death penalty are that it be applied fairly and only to guilty defendants. I practice criminal defense in Washington and Arizona. The horror stories from Arizona convince me that it should be abolished in both places.
For example, the top death penalty prosecutor in Pima County, Arizona, was eventually disbarred for suborning perjury in a first-degree murder case. Ken Peasley who had a reputation for extreme and outrageous behavior was a veritable hero as a "crusader for victim's rights." He also cheated, and was caught. There is just no adequate safeguard against this kind of behavior. While I thankfully have never encountered a "Peasley" in Washington, there is nothing that would prevent similar behavior here other than abolishing death as a penalty.
Death is just too harsh a punishment when our criminal justice system is so fragile. In particular, consider another Arizona case -- the snaggletooth killer. Ray Krone, dubbed the snaggletooth killer by the press, was eventually freed from death row and exonerated by dna evidence. Additionally, courts eventually decided that the expert testimony that convicted him was erroneous at the time. But it convinced a court, with all its "safeguards" that guilty men should go free rather than convict the possibly innocent, to convict a man who was innocent.
Finally, as a matter of fairness, the death penalty is not applied even-handedly. As such it will disproportionately snare the disenfranchised, such as traditional minorities. From my perspective as a public defender I see a daily war on the poor, the dark-skinned and the mentally ill.
Having a state that takes it upon itself to selectively and forcibly kill its citizens is barbarous and should be abolished.
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Nothing. Government killing is a strange and barbaric power that we should not consent to for any reason. The government acts on behalf of the people. The people are taught that to kill is wrong. Somehow, we are to believe, that the power to kill through the government is actually alright. When you look at the facts about the death penalty, you see clearly that it is used to rid ourselves of people we don't like- people we are scared of: the mentally ill, the poor, people who are not white. This is a deplorable, expensive, and harmful process for all involved, including the victim's families, the medical professionals that we ask to kill in our names, and the corrections staff that we ask to carry out the details. It should be abolished. If someone still supports it, they should become informed and ask themselves "why."
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I would be willing to change my mind if anyone could show me evidence that these killings are the best option for the state and for the people. Not only do I worry about the state of our minds as citizens in a state and a country that executes people, but in this economic crisis I feel that the expense of the death penalty makes it a greater drain than a gain.
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The more I learn about capital punishment, the more I'm convinced it's a mistake. I recently attended an event where Juan Roberto Melendez told his story of being falsely convicted of murder and on death row for over 17 years. Though he was innocent, his conviction was upheld on appeal 3 times. He was exonerated, not by a judicial system that worked well, but because he got a new attorney that looked at information his original attorney had, including a taped confession by the real killer. All those years on death row, when proof he was innocent was sitting in a box somewhere being ignored. If he hadn't gotten a new attorney, he'd be dead right now! There have been over 100 exonerations from death row in recent years in the US. How many innocent people didn't get exonerated? It's a question we may never know the answer to.
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There are many fates worse than death. A long life in a cage with all those we choose to imprison may well be one of them. Or maybe a life on death row believing that you will be executed any day now?
In Montana, where I come from, if you survive being hung 3 times ... You go free on the assumsion that it is 'Gods will'. Really. 18th century law left unchanged.I still just dont think the state has any business killing any of us. Be it Law, War, or whatever
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My problem with the death penalty is that it does not seem to reserved for cases where there is truly no doubt, that it is not fairly distributed and would almost never be applied to someone who is wealthy and well represented, that is takes many years and is extremely expensive to prosecute. I can't see a reason to have it.
But what if someone would prefer to be executed rather than incarcerated in what appears to be pretty horrible circumstances? Should execution be an option?
I think I could and would support "assisted suicide" as an alternative to "life without parole".
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I am a criminal defense attorney who has practiced public defense, and I have been opposed to capital punishment since law school.
I never formed an opinion about capital punishment until I learned more about the judicial process involved, and the danger of convicting an innocent person. In law school, I was lucky to take an entire course on capital punishment. Learning the arguments against the death penalty persuaded me to strongly oppose the death penalty.
I also had the opportunity to listen to a former inmate who had been wrongly convicted in Florida, and who had fortunately been exonerated after 18 years on death row. It made me really wonder how many other inmates are on death row or have been executed who were truly innocent? This former death-row inmate had a huge impact on my opinion regarding the death penalty.
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[Elizabeth 1 month ago]
There is nothing that could convince me that the death penalty is just or fair. It is cruel and unusual punishment, and fundamentally inhumane. I am also very cynical about the fairness of its application. It does not seem to be reserved for the most heinous crimes, but for those defendants who have inadequate legal counsel. I don't think the process is fair, and I am concerned that innocent people are sentenced to death because of lack of quality representation. If I heard more information that would convince me that death row inmates had been treated fairly during their trials, had had the best legal counsel available, and that the sentencing process was proportional, that might reshape my thinking (about its application, not about its fundamentally "right"-ness). However, I doubt that this evidence exists.0 0
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Our courts are supposed to be about justice, no revenge. The death penalty should be abolished and replaced with Life Without Parole. This satisfies society's need to punish the offender and ensure the public safety by keeping killers off the street. The blood lust that seems to drive support for the death penalty is an anathema to a free and just society.
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I am a local psychologist who has opposed state sanctioned murder since 1953. I have become an expert on this topic. For all of the known reasons, including moral, financial, judicial, and religious, executions must be banned in all circumstances. Life in prison without parole is a miserable consequence for a murderer. Fortunately, if a convict is later found to be innocent, he need not be exhumed from his grave to be pardoned post mortem. Furthermore, Washington State has stature well above the Sunbelt execution states. To kill this poor soul is simply a dramatic affirmation that revenge remains at the heart of our progressive culture. No more.
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There is nothing that could make me change my mind about this issue. Killing another person is wrong. And the moment that my government, which rules in my name, takes part in the destruction of a human life, then I have blood on my hands. It should be abolished forever and, with hope, it will someday. However, remember this question: It took Europe how many centuries to evolve to a point where it could do away with such forms of punishment? How many world wars had to cut that continent and it's people into a million pieces? Our "great" nation has a long way to evolve until we reach that point.
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Nothing can change my belief that the death penalty is wrong. It is murder pure and simple. It angers me that as a citizen of Washington, the state is about to kill someone in my name and in everyone else's name.
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I've always felt that to kill someone for killing someone is just plain wrong. I'm not sure if anything could change my mind. The death penalty is supposed to be not just a punishment, but a deterrent, and although I think it should be banned, if used, shouldn't it be made public? Why are we hiding it, if it is supposed to deter further crimes? What's better: rehabilitation, having prisoners work to support themselves in prison, peer-to-peer counseling, have them do a commercial about what it's like in prison... there are so many other options for better ways to prevent further crimes. Our current prison system is broken.
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Nothing. State sponsored murder is still murder.
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I will not change my mind about the death penalty. I've always believed it to by murder. It is wrong. The mistakes that are made as to guilt and innocence alone should give us pause. How can anyone ever be sure...
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