An Argument Against the Death Penalty

[SIG220]

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We have had some heated discussions here regarding the death penalty in the past, and some have argued that executing the worst offenders in public would be a very good thing to do.   But tell me, do you honestly believe that would be desirable?   I ask this because just such an execution actually happened last Sunday.

Iran executed a man who was convicted of sexually raping and murdering 16 young boys over a long period of time.  He was sentenced to 100 lashes for the rapes.  The judge also gave him 16 separate death sentences.  Because the court imposed multiple death sentences, it was deemed appropriate by public officials for him to die slowly.   So instead of a typical quick hanging, a mother of one of the murdered boys was allowed to tie a noose around his neck, and he was then slowly lifted up by a construction crane, causing him to slowly strangle to death.

But he first had the 100 lashes applied.  Multiple public officials had to be used to administer the beating, as they became too exhausted from giving him so many blows.   While he was being beaten, an overflow crowd of over 5,000 people from the small town where the murders took place watched and cheered wildly.   Dozens of people in the crowd also threw rocks at him, during the beating.   One relative of one of the young boys even managed to slip through the security.   He stabbed the murderer once in the back with a knife, while he was still handcuffed to the post he was being beaten at.   The relative was seized and taken into custody, so the execution could then proceed.   But the police released him afterwards, with no charges filed against him.

While one can argue that justice was done here, is this really civilized behavior??   Would we really want to act like the Islamic extremists do in Iran??  It seems to me that we would lose something as a society and a culture if we did.

The name of the condemned man was "Mohammed Bijeh".   Don't Google his name unless you have a strong stomach.   There were a number of Iranian photojournalists present at the hanging.

Interestingly, the accomplice that helped Bijeh actually kidnap the boys, only got a sentence of 100 lashes and 15 years in prison.   He did not actually participate in the rapes or murders themselves.  So he consequently was not charged with those crimes, even though he facilitated them by helping to seize the boys.

I believe that in a lot of Western countries he probably would have been charged with murder too.   Although I surely don't claim to be any legal expert.

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[Nilsen]

I have always been against the death penalty for two reasons.

1. The cours may, and have made mistakes when convicting someone. You cant reverse a death penalty.

2. Killing someone is offering them a quick way out. Let them rot.

[Elfie]

Administering the death penalty doesn't need to be cruel and drawn out like the Iranians did it.

I do believe he earned the death penalty though. Even Jeffrey Dahmer eventually got served a death sentence, it was just administered by inmates instead of a court system. Not saying I approve of that, even though I believe that he too earned a death sentence.

[Engine]

Yep. You're confusing a humane, quickly-performed death sentence with that bloody, brutal farce. I support the first, but I can't support the second. Look at it this way: You're putting down a rabid dog because it just can't live with other dogs. You may not hate the dog, but even if yu do you put it down as quickly and painlessly as possible.

[storch]

I have always been against the death penalty for two reasons.

1. The cours may, and have made mistakes when convicting someone. You cant reverse a death penalty.

2. Killing someone is offering them a quick way out. Let them rot.

I agree

[Engine]

That's contradictory, Nilsen.

You might get an innocent man, so it's better not to give him a quick way out but instead to make him rot for 50 years in prison? Not to mention that taxpayers are paying for 50 years of food, housing, and medical care.

[Hornet33]

Being civilized means that you understand that there are certain people that do not deserve to live in our society. Pedophiles, murderers rank at the very top of a very short list.

Did this guy in Iran derserve to die? He raped and murdered 15 kids. Hell yes he deserved to die. Do I approve of the method used? Not really but I can also see the justice in it. That sort of thing would never fly over here, but just the same, strap his arse in the chair, insert the needle and put him down for good.

I honestly have never understood the position of the anti death penalty crowd. Maybe I'm too much of a redneck but I see no reason to spend tax dollars housing some ultra melon that has been found guilty of murder, or raping kids, for the rest of their lives. That mearly puts a finacial burdon on me and everyone else. With that thought in mind, I end up having to pay for his actions for the rest of his life. SCREW that. If it's been proven in a court of law, not once but TWICE, because a death penalty is grounds for an automatic appeal, then it's done, Get rid of the POS and move on. I don't care about his family, friends or anyone else that has his interest in mind. I care about the victim. Who had their interest in mind when said ultra melon was doing his thing to them??

The largest problem with this country is that we don't kill enough of these monsters. These freaks of nature do what they do KNOWING that even if they get caught, more than likely the'll end up living out their days in jail, but they're not going to be killed. They'll have 3 squares a day, color cable TV, free medical care.

Personaly anyone who objects to the death penalty on "moral" grounds needs to grow a set, man up, and do what has to be done.  That's my opinion.

[ROX]

I have split feelings on this.

The Iranian story quoted above is over the top.

In the USA, John (Wayne) Gacy was convicted of raping & murdering numerous young men & boys.  He did a long jail stint, and then was executed.

There have been cases in our country where people have been convicted, and then found to be innocent by confession or DNA proof, so yes, mistakes have been made.  It would be a travesty to execute the wrong person.....but......

Then I think about that college student at UNC Chapel Hill.  Senselessly shot in the head and dumped in the street to eventually die.  The animal(s) who did it got temporary use of her car and tried to use her debit card...that's all they got.   I don't think the taxpayers of North Carolina want their hard earned tax dollars spent feeding those animal(s) in a cage for the rest of their natural days...

Fire up "Old Sparky".




ROX

[lazs2]

nelson..   can you name one person who was executed unjustly here?   I bet you can name a bunch of people who did not get the death penalty or were not executed promptly that got away or killed again.

as for your second statement that the death penalty is too quick.. "let em rot"  It would appear that you condone torture but not death?    I don't believe in torture.. sorry.   put the poor miserable wretch out of his misery and act like a civilized human.

I believe that execution of such incurables is the civilized way.. that caged torture is uncivilized.. many of the prisoners here that you "civilized" and compassionate people would "save" go through at least as much torture as the iranian guy before they die...

you just don't do it yourself.. you cage them with other miserable refuse and pretend you don't have anything to do with what happens.

lazs

[Jackal1]

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While one can argue that justice was done here, is this really civilized behavior?? 

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The words Iran and civilized do not mix well. Oil/water

[Yeager]

I have always been against the death penalty for two reasons.

1. The cours may, and have made mistakes when convicting someone. You cant reverse a death penalty.

2. Killing someone is offering them a quick way out. Let them rot.

I wont bother in any length here other than to say that the entire human race benifits by the culling of a select few murderous types,  who long as they breath air, are violent threats to the rest of us. 

[myelo]

1. The cours may, and have made mistakes when convicting someone. You cant reverse a death penalty.

So are you also opposed to imprisonment? Because you can't reverse that either. If someone has spent 20 years in prison and then their conviction is reversed, you can't give them back those 20 years.

By that logic, the only punishment would be things like fines because if you make a mistake you can refund the money (with interest).

[SOB]

That turd in Iran got no less than he deserved.  But what happened there has no parallels to the Death penalty here except that in the end, the guy was dead.  We should set a standard and do it consistently...put 'em down quick and move on.

[Toad]

Updated for current prices, the 60 cent solution still works just fine. Done correctly, which is pretty easy, the soul would leave the body at about 3000 fps. OK, you're right, shotguns under the chin work too at about 1500 fps.

[lasersailor184]

Yes, it is civilized behavior.  A criminal's punishment MUST be worse than the severity of the crime he committed.  If not, then there will never really be a true deterrent.