Why Doesn’t the U.S. Exercise Capital Punishment More Frequently?
Question by FUBAR: Why doesn’t the U.S. exercise Capital Punishment more frequently?
– I don’t understand why they don’t just execute prisoners who committed the more violent felonies such as homicide, armed robberies, etc. First off, some people want to go to jail just to be fed, clothed, and bathed.
– In other cases, people will go just to gain a reputation in their gang. Of course they say that it costs a lot of money to do, but that’s because of all the paperwork and appeals to stay an execution, and also the so-called most “humane way possible” (injection). Why not just shoot them in the head, if you’ve got a firing squad with all of them firing a bullet into the head, the person will be, 9 times out of 10, instantly killed.
– And as for the whole DNA proving someone’s innocence, even if they are removed from death row or prison, how did they manage to get there in the first place? It’s not like you were arrested for absolutely no reason, clearly the person was involved in some way, and of course mistakes are made, but should that one mistake justify a reason to not sentence more people to a righteous execution?
– It should also be considered when talking about prisoners themselves, it’s already a given fact that most who are released from prison will just commit another crime because it’s mostly a psychological thing.
-Since the reason for crime lies within the mental state, are we not doing the world a favor by removing those who have anti-social disorders, those who do even the darkest of things just to please others. It’s not like it’s a torturous death, and in addition, for those who are not mentally unstable will it not decrease the chances of them committing a crime?
Just some things to think about…
Best answer:
Answer by Gazza
Most western civilised countries have abolished the death penalty. There was recently the case of an American who was accused of murder in the USA, he managed to cross the border into Canada where he was arrested by Canadian police. Canadian authorities refused to return him to the USA until the death penalty was off the table. Even the UK will not extradite a person to the USA if they face the death penalty.
Answer by El Jefe
“I don’t understand why they don’t just execute prisoners who committed the more violent felonies such as homicide, armed robberies, etc.”
Because not all homicide is intentional, and many people don’t think that executing someone for robbery when no one is hurt is fair.
“First off, some people want to go to jail just to be fed, clothed, and bathed.”
The small number of people who do this are not committing serious crimes to get into jail.
“In other cases, people will go just to gain a reputation in their gang.”
Nobody does this. Gang members get rep for doing the crimes that get them into jail…not for getting caught.
“Of course they say that it costs a lot of money to do, but that’s because of all the paperwork and appeals to stay an execution, and also the so-called most “humane way possible” (injection).”
The expense is because the consequences of executing people who are innocent is greater than the consequences of warehousing people who are guilty.
“Why not just shoot them in the head, if you’ve got a firing squad with all of them firing a bullet into the head, the person will be, 9 times out of 10, instantly killed.”
The cost of the injection is tiny compared to the cost of ensuring that only guilty people are put to death.
“And as for the whole DNA proving someone’s innocence, even if they are removed from death row or prison, how did they manage to get there in the first place?”
Mistaken eyewitnesses, coerced confessions, expert witnesses who lie under oath.
“It’s not like you were arrested for absolutely no reason, clearly the person was involved in some way, and of course mistakes are made, but should that one mistake justify a reason to not sentence more people to a righteous execution?”
Um, there are cases where people were executed, but no crime occured. They were found guilty of murder when in fact the victim died an accidental death.
“It should also be considered when talking about prisoners themselves, it’s already a given fact that most who are released from prison will just commit another crime because it’s mostly a psychological thing.”
The recidivism rate is 60%. 40% of over a million people is a lot of people who will never commit another serious crime again.
“Since the reason for crime lies within the mental state, are we not doing the world a favor by removing those who have anti-social disorders, those who do even the darkest of things just to please others.”
Does that include the mental state of people whose only crime is possession of drugs for personal use?
“It’s not like it’s a torturous death, and in addition, for those who are not mentally unstable will it not decrease the chances of them committing a crime?”
I have a friend who went to prison years ago for forging checks on her boyfriend’s account. He didn’t mind her doing this, and only turned her in “to teach her a lesson” when he suspected her of infidelity (she wasn’t cheating on him). At the time, she had two young daughters. She did 3 years in prison, got out, and now is “Nanny” to her two grandchildren. Do you think she should have been executed by firing squad, too?