Death Penalty - what is your opinion about it?

[alpha_dk]

txags911 said:
Against the death penalty on several counts:

1. The possibility of a false conviction. The permanence and finality of the death penalty is what makes this punishment more susceptible to the point than other forms of punishment. No coming back from the death penalty. Sure, 20 years in prison is tough to come back from, too, but at least we can return them to society if they are later found to be innocent.

2. Moral ambiguity. I believe killing others is wrong. I don't believe there to be an exception when you really think someone is a bad guy/girl. The criminal is wrong, but that does not make us any more right in doing the same thing.

3. Lack of deterrent effect. Tons of countries without the death penalty post lower murder rates than us. States with no death penalty have no difference in murder rates over those with the death penalty. There just isn't evidence of a deterrent effect.

4. Not needed to protect society. With our maximum security prisons, life in prison without parole is more than sufficient to protect society from a killer. Society is made no safer by extending the penalty to death.

5. Unbalanced application. This one is enough on its own...even if I ignore all my other objections. In this country, you are way more likely to get convicted if you are, say, a poor black man in Texas. You can't afford the quality of defense, juries have demonstrated bias, Texas leans towards death, etc. In a world where we cannot guarantee a balanced application of a penalty, you really should not be using it. Like #1, I know this argument applies to all punishments, but it is more the case with the death penalty. Finality and seriousness of the penalty.

QFT.  I was going to mention #5 but was too lazy to go look for data, so I am glad someone did.