- 588
- 10
Originally Posted by duke4005
But does it stop person X from getting out on a technicality and doing it again? From spending 12 years in prison and getting out on a "good behavior" stint and going back into it? Yes. So then if person Y and Z do the same thing, strap them down and get it over with. And yes, if you have a person, let's say McVeigh, who admits he did it, waves appeals, and let's the trial go the way it goes naturally, that to me is water-tight. I still don't see why it is cost-effective to keep them locked up forever. I believe the figures were $44,000 a year to keep them locked up, and $1 million for the death penalty. In 25 years that is equal. Most are on death row for half that (except in Texas), so in reality it does cost more. The secret is to stream-line the process. If there is any possible doubt (if the person did not outright confess, have the body with them/lead authorities to it, videotape of the murder and knowledge of why it occured), then the death penalty is not an option. Eye-witness accounts are not enough to warrant it, unless corroborated by the perpetrator. And yes, I am enjoying this also. Ususally I am stuck in Shoe Reviews or S&T, so this is good.Originally Posted by Gello 201
Im sorry but i have to cut you off on a few things. If person X is put to death, it statistically does not stop person y, and z from committing the same crime. There is no water tight confession, the burden of proof in criminal court is 99.9% guilty. The 'mentally challenged' we are going back and forth about are to be removed from society permanently. They can be studied to hopefully find major or even minor breakthroughs to prevent future crimes. It is also cost effective to keep them locked up forever, as opposed to putting them to death. On a side note, I am thoroughly enjoying this discussion.
People wave their rights, give up on appeals all the time. People have admitted to crimes they have never committed, (i.e police station's 'clearingthe books'). Videotapes can and have been altered, hence the 99.9%burden of proof. It's roughly $20-$40 a day to keep someone in prison. That accountsfor meals, prison officers, etc... Lawyers can collect upwards of $100,000 just on the murder trial, which lasts years and years. Judges, D.A.'s, assistantD.A's, bailiffs, an entire office of legal assistants, sheriff's officers are all involved along the way with each trial. It's dough, and i forgetthe figure, but almost all DP's are appealed, which just repeats the process at a higher cost more than likely. General deterrence doesnt mean repeatoffender. And studies show, that if person X is killed via death penalty, it does not stop person Y and Z from committing the same crime. You say IF Y and Zcommit the same crime, and are executed they cant commit crimes again. Well its because X was killed prior and the same crime is still carried out by Y and Z,thus not deterring. As far as repeat offender/recidivism is concerned, if the suspect X is proven to the highest extent possible that he/she did the crime,then there should be no chance of the person getting out of prison (case dependant obviously). i know 'life' in prison terms can be 25-40 yearsroughly. Punishment as defined by our government is removal of one from society and stripping of certain rights. Death is added/not added as a penalty by eachcountry. I feel, and again its my opinion, that its 2009.....Putting people to death isnt any man's decision. Same with war; it determines who is left, notwho is right. I will say that if someone really close to me was murdered, I have no idea how i would react. This me talking subjectively/objectively (alwaysmix those two up, but whichever one means from outside in)