no doubt about it, Ian Watkins is a nonce

[thetime]

I'm not doubting that it still happens to some degree (in fact I said that), but due to the advancement in techology and effectiveness of the legal profession there's no doubt in my mind that it certainly is't as bad as it has been in the past and that progess has been (and will continue to be) made, and that if (and I'll stress again that I don't think it is) the only thing preventing the use of capital punishment is the concern over wrongful convictions then that can be effectively addressed. It may come with other issues, such as long incarceration periods and endless appeal processes in order to ensure that the correct checks and balances are in place, but I don't think it's unreasonable to see a future where if we wanted to go down that route that it could be achieved.

[Yellow_Fellow]

#

Yemen has one of the lowest crime rates in the world (I think they were the lowest at on point) and they have the death penalty with over a thousand people on death row.

[neilloggie]

I really do think the justice system in this country is far too soft at times, but corporal or capital punishment isn't the way to go. I do think that severe crime (murder, rape, pedophilia and the like) should be punished by a diminishing of human rights though beyond incarceration.

[thetime]

Thousands of guilty people are never charged because although the the police and cps have evidence they see it as insufficient to get a conviction,but that doesn't change the fact that they were guilty. Over the years several people may have been sent to prison for crimes they may or may not have committed and released as innocent or merely released with the original sentence overturned which still implies they thought they were guilty,but because of a police cock up they overcooked the evidence.

If you hung 500 people and found that maybe 1 or 2 were innocent then that's just par for the course,it maybe sad but it would stand as a deterrent to others.

[neilloggie]

No, it isn't. Where on Earth did you get that idea from?

[neilloggie]

So your ok with killing innocent people? You wouldnt say 'Its okay, it happens' if you were the innocent man.

[jump]

not a relevant statistic. Population skew between Yemen and others is absurd

[2rare2die]

Thousands of guilty people are never charged because although the the police and cps have evidence they see it as insufficient to get a conviction,but that doesn't change the fact that they were guilty. Over the years several people may have been sent to prison for crimes they may or may not have committed and released as innocent or merely released with the original sentence overturned which still implies they thought they were guilty,but because of a police cock up they overcooked the evidence.

If you hung 500 people and found that maybe 1 or 2 were innocent then that's just par for the course,it maybe sad but it would stand as a deterrent to others.

[jump]

But surely having the death penalty would result in any evidence being even more heavily scrutinised, so if said evidence is being deemed insufficient to incarcerate someone now, it would be even less likely to result in someone being hung.

[thetime]

I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore i would be hanging.

[thetime]

Wouldn't they be two seperate processes tho, one process to be found guilty or innocent and then sentenced by what the crime was.

[jump]

Do you agree with the death penalty jump?

Edited December 24, 2012 by jump

[2rare2die]

Wouldn't they be two seperate processes tho, one process to be found guilty or innocent and then sentenced by what the crime was.

Edited December 24, 2012 by 2rare2die

[neilloggie]

I will ask again, your ok in killing innocent people?

[2rare2die]

My conscience could live with it.

Edited December 24, 2012 by 2rare2die

[thetime]

My conscience could live with it.

[mrtourette]

How long do you want them on death row? 10 years? 20 years? 30 years?

Until the system is 100% that no wrongful convictions can happen fair enough(even though I still wouldnt agree with it). No system can guarantee this, even if one single person gets put to death wrongly then you cant bring a death penalty into the system.

Life prison without parole because at least there a chance to get released if they are found innocent.

Who decides who whould be put to death or not anyway? All murders? All rapists? All child abusers? Police killers?

Edited December 24, 2012 by mrtourette

[jump]

Are there any statistics on how many wrongly convicted people are executed in the Sates? Might be interesting to see if they can execute their policy safe in the knowledge that someone is 100% guilty.

[Amy Lawn]

Texas (I think) killed a boat load of innocents recently, I'm going to dig up a source to back me up though....

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!

dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun

[kaosmark2]

Just castrate the sick bastards. This kind of thing is all over twitter at the moment and other than putting a gun to their head it's the only appropriate punishment

[kaosmark2]

But surely having the death penalty would result in any evidence being even more heavily scrutinised, so if said evidence is being deemed insufficient to incarcerate someone now, it would be even less likely to result in someone being hung.

[AcademicPistol]

There is a lot of things to factor in when thinking about the death which is why I have always been on the fence about it. I mainly swing towards being against the death penalty, there are only two things I can think of that could sort of make an agruement for having the death penalty and they are.

1) The number of innocent people being wrongly executed (which wouldn't be many based on the amount of evidence needed and DNA testing etc) might (and that's a big might) just be a worth while sacrefice to stop serial killers, killers, rapists etc from coming out of prison and reoffending.

2) How would you feel if you saw a loved one murdered in cold blood? (or you knew with a shadow of doubt who killed them)

It's in our nature to want justice and revenge, even though it makes me no better than them I would kill them to. Maybe none of us are better than murderers. You can't help nature.

Edited December 24, 2012 by AcademicPistol

[mrtourette]

I've found four cases of posthumous pardons being issued in the US:

Joe Arridy - executed 1939, pardoned 2011

Thomas & Meeks Griffin - executed 1915, pardoned 2009

Lena Baker - executed 1945, pardoned 2005

There are plenty of times that convicted people on death row have been exonerated, but I guess that shows that if you can't prevent wrongful conviction in the first place (as is being claimed) at least have enough avenues for re-trial and appeal to give people the opportunity to fight again.

[kaosmark2]

It's in our nature to want justice and revenge, even though it makes me no better than them I would kill them to. Maybe none of us are better than murderers. You can't help nature.

[AcademicPistol]

In regard to whoever (I think thetime?) who said the urges wouldn't go, then they wouldn't be able to act on them, and the temptation would be reduced. It shouldn't be a replacement for punishment, but to offer it as an option to help rehabilitation maybe.