Darkness
Psychoanalyst/Marxist
The Supreme Court has declared that a person cannot be executed for raping a child. Is this a step in the right direction or a serious injustice?
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No Death Penalty for Child Rape!
- Thread starter Darkness
- Start date
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
I've mixed feelings on capital punishment. On one hand, I can sort of see it as one would euthanize a rabid dog out of mercy and necessity. On the other hand, how does a corpse learn its lesson? How does it reflect upon and reach the realization of its errors? How does a corpse come to know regret and remorse? Instead of being punishment, wouldn't death rather be an escape from it? Remember in the movie Kill Bill Vol. 2 when Beatrix plucked out Elle's last eye, rendering her blind, screaming and flailing about helplessly? Instead of finishing her off, she just turned away and left her there. Also, another problem with capital punishment is the chance of accidentally executing innocent people who've been falsely convicted. It's happened before. Unlike life imprisonment, you can't release and compensate someone for that kind of screw up.
Now castration for sexual predators I could fully support if only they could somehow guarantee it wouldn't happen to an innocent person by mistake.
Now castration for sexual predators I could fully support if only they could somehow guarantee it wouldn't happen to an innocent person by mistake.
Poisonshady313
Well-Known Member
How about putting down a dog that has a habit of attacking people, simply because it's a threat to society (I've seen this happen). A person who commits a crime worthy of a death sentence is beyond learning, reflection, regret, remorse, etc... It's a dog that must be put down.
So then, if this is what's acceptable to you, you would advocate the reform of prisons such that the worst of offenders who might otherwise be deserving of death simply be locked in a room, not given food, water, treatment, etc... just left to die.
I'll go for that... but you might have a hard time convincing some abolitionists that this is less cruel and unusual than simply executing them.
After all... Beatrix went ahead and executed everyone else, without just leaving them there.
On that same token, I bet there are some people serving life sentences who have been falsely convicted.
Perhaps you'd like to do away with the criminal justice system altogether... 'cause y'know... every so often they're in the habit of finding innocent people guilty.
If we can't apply the death penalty for that reason... why apply any penalty?
3.14
Well-Known Member
personaly think that killing a person regardless of his actions is wrong, (exept maby in cases where your life or multiple lifes are under threat by a lethal weapon)
this is because i feel that mankind has evolved to far away from animals to allow termination of inconviniences, instead of dealing with them.
this is because i feel that mankind has evolved to far away from animals to allow termination of inconviniences, instead of dealing with them.
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
Anyone with a semblance of intelligence would know that's not what I was implying. The point was that in some cases being left alive can be a worse punishment than death.
Yeah, but that mistake can be corrected; you can at least release and compensate an innocent person who as been imprisoned. You can't magically resurrect an innocent person who has been executed.
Princess, please!
Go take a nap.
A
angellous_evangellous
Guest
I think that it is very unfortunate.
Poisonshady313
Well-Known Member
You assume that all criminals sitting in prison feel bad about what they've done.
When they get free education, free meals, free health, free room and board, free electricity, television, recreation, etc... it may not be a picnic, but compared to some people who are poor and struggling... it's something somewhat of an upgrade.
"Can be"... what about those who die in prison simply because they've served a full life sentence... and they did nothing to deserve being there in the first place. Can't fix that, now can you?
Now that's just unnecessary and uncalled for. If you had no rational response, it would have served you better to just leave it out of your post.Princess, please!
I have mixed feelings about this.
On the one hand, I think the death penalty should not be used, so I don't think it should be applied to child rapists.
On the other hand, I think it's messed up that the penalty for planning and carrying out the rape of a child is less than the penalty for unintentionally killing an inmate in a prison brawl.
On the one hand, I think the death penalty should not be used, so I don't think it should be applied to child rapists.
On the other hand, I think it's messed up that the penalty for planning and carrying out the rape of a child is less than the penalty for unintentionally killing an inmate in a prison brawl.
This...
darkendless
Guardian of Asgaard
Once an offender always an offender. Punishment needs to make people not want to offend in the first place. Child rape is a terrible crime, punishment should make people such as this man afraid of being caught. I think death is an easy way out, he should be punished in such a way that he wishes he was dead.
Mathematician
Reason, and reason again
Hmm, for some reason two thoughts instantly came to my mind. 1.) The Shawshank Redemption 2.) this man.
The death penalty is a pitiful excuse for retribution with no demonstrable success record. A corpse does nothing for society other than take up even more land. Arguments have been made rapists may even turn into murderers with the knowledge of a living victim - if the outcomes are the same, why not just kill the person and save yourself more torment? Hopefully it will (once again) be struck down entirely.
It seems especially odd to me that people are breaking the old tradition of an "eye for an eye" (Gandhi's take is especially enlightening) by making the punishment for rape even worse than the actual crime - not to mention a child offender in America's prison system will likely be raped and/or incapacitated by fellow criminals.
standing_alone
Well-Known Member
I think the death penalty should be reserved for only the worst of humanity (i.e. war criminals, say, responsible for genocide or other such atrocity), so I am okay with the court's ruling.
Whether the punishment is worse than the actual crime, besides being debatable, ignores the psychological effect of sex crimes on the victims that is long (life-long) lasting. Sexual predators are scum of the worst sort, in my opinion (I hate them more than murderers), and though I tend to oppose the death penalty (even for them), it doesn't mean I don't desire to rid the world of each and every one of them personally. I just believe our justice system shouldn't be based on emotional, knee-jerk reactions. Especially if those administering justice have reactions anywhere like mine!
GeneCosta said:
Whether the punishment is worse than the actual crime, besides being debatable, ignores the psychological effect of sex crimes on the victims that is long (life-long) lasting. Sexual predators are scum of the worst sort, in my opinion (I hate them more than murderers), and though I tend to oppose the death penalty (even for them), it doesn't mean I don't desire to rid the world of each and every one of them personally.
I just believe our justice system shouldn't be based on emotional, knee-jerk reactions. Especially if those administering justice have reactions anywhere like mine! 
Ciscokid
Well-Known Member
I'd rather my father die than rape another child.
Neo-Logic
Reality Checker
Death Penalty is and should remain reserved for the most severest of crimes. Crimes of extraordinary cruelty or severity where justice cannot be satisfed by life sentences alone.
There are many things worse than the rape of a child - granted the act in itself is henious. To make Death Penalty accessible to the punishment of child rape underminds the now evolved ideology of why the Death Penalty still exists.
There are many things worse than the rape of a child - granted the act in itself is henious. To make Death Penalty accessible to the punishment of child rape underminds the now evolved ideology of why the Death Penalty still exists.
