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McDonaldsGuy on 25 June 2015
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Normchacho said:
McDonaldsGuy said:
Normchacho said:
The death penalty really doesn't make sense to me...

1. It costs more than life in prison. (to the people bringing up appeals, when someone is sentenced to death their case goes through a mandatory "automatic appeal" to be as sure as possible that nobody missed anything).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/05/01/considering-the-death-penalty-your-tax-dollars-at-work/

2. The death penalty doesn't deter crime.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/30/theres-still-no-evidence-that-executions-deter-criminals/

3. We do sometimes execute innocent people. This fact alone should be enough to stop the use of the death penalty because there is NO acceptable margin of error when it comes to execution.

http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-infamous-cases-of-wrongful-execution.html

Your third link pretty much proves me right: DNA has made it extremely improbable for innocent people to be executed. 15 years ago I would have been against the death penalty except for extreme cases, but now I feel it is accurate enough.

Oh yeah? There are currently 32 death penalty cases being reviewed due to flawed testimony surrounding forensic evidence between 1980 and 2000. 14 of those convicted have already been executed or died in prison.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4d1ac1226ca240319c3ac656ae1b246f/report-doj-fbi-acknowledge-flawed-testimony-unit

I also present you with the case of Cameron Todd Williams. Executed in 2004 for the murders of his three daughters after intentionally setting their house on fire. Except of course he didn't actually do that.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/03/cameron_todd_willingham_prosecutor_john_jackson_charges_corrupt_prosecution.html

"accurate enough"...Those two words represent what I feel is an insurmountable difference in this disscussion. My opinion, if that there is no such thing as "accurate enough" when it comes to the state putting people to death. especially when there is no real societal benefit to putting people to death in the first place.

As I said, I would have been totally against the death penalty (except for cases like serial/spree killers) about 15 years ago. You keep proving my point - DNA is helping free these people.

And I have read about Cameron Todd Williams and I feel it should go to court again to get the truth about, but as it stands no inncoent person has yet to be executed, or at least, with DNA now available.

I also feel that prosecutors should be held accountable for purposely falsifying evidence - they are not. There is a problem with the prosecution, not the death penalty itself. Your example isn't really any good anyhow (the FBI one, not the Cameron).