| MontanaHatchet said: Being easier on criminals is part of moving forwards as a society. Life in prison may not be the most convenient punishment for the justice system, or a just enough punishment for the family of the person murdered, but it's not a radical choice. I think a lot of conservatives would agree with me when I say that I wouldn't want to surrender my life to the government/justice system regardless of the actions I committed. A life in jail may not be cruel enough in some people's eyes, but the legal system also shouldn't have the right to end my life. |
I would argue that for serious crimes, such as taking someone elses life, that shouldn't matter. They shouldn't have the right to take someone elses life, but they did anyway. If you're going to kill people, in my view, you forfit your right to life because you're an ass. Yes, I hate people killing others for no reason, or a very stupid reason. (My views on what's a stupid reason are my own; don't try to twist my words to mean something else.)
| MontanaHatchet said: One of the main problems with the death penalty is that it's really backwards. Hangings and torture used to be commonplace, but now torture is looked upon as an incredibly cruel action and hanging is unheard of. The death sentence isn't torture; the people die pretty fast, and they aren't hanged. As a society, we should be moving towards arrest and restraint rather than murder. Isn't that just based on your perspective? Maybe if there was a more serious punishment, people would be less willing to break the law. Just maybe. Hell, watch the movie Batman Begins if you want to learn a little more. Life is precious, or at least I think so in my oh-so crazy mind. If you're going to end someone elses life, is your life precious? Clearly that person has no regard (for the most part) for life. The death sentence for people like that is a punishment that fits the crime. After all, once you lose it, you aren't getting another one. Do they think of that before they kill other people? Who knows. But they still did it. And you don't realize how precious life is until you're dead (although you don't "realize" anything at all). Maybe the only way they'll realize that is by dying. So, if you want to look at it that way, we'd almost be doing them a favor. Almost. Take a lesson from the third crusades, when the crusaders didn't have the resources to house their captives and chose to slaughter them instead. Back then, they really had no other option. But in today's society, we have the resources to house people for life, and we shouldn't end a person's life just because it's more convenient to the government and taxpayers. Neither should they take someone's life for no reason at all, or a very stupid one. That doesn't stop them though. |
Another issue I have is the conditions in jails. I remember my dad telling me about a jail in Wyoming a while back, where there was no heat in a stone room. In the winter, you'd be miserable. That would make you think twice about committing a crime. They also had to grow their own food, and work. Conditions were not fun. We should not have prisons with great conditions. We shouldn't be keeping these people near death, but they should know that prison is a punishment.
Basically, prison should not have any comforts more than is necessary (ie, not letting the temperature getting too out of hand, give them decent beds at least... not like a rock anyway, etc).
