The Town Hall Archives

Respectahobbit · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2003 5:20 am Post subject: Is Capital Punishment good?

I'm doing an essay on this thing... I don't really want to.. but I had to or else the teacher's going to kill me.
Proceed down.

L

So. Do you think Capital Punishment is good? Question

Vote!

-Robin Baggins, the one who really needs an answer-

Jared · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2003 7:52 am Post subject:

For those that take innocent life, there is no other alternative. Life imprisonment makes the state pay to give a murderer a rather luxurious life. Statistically, capital punishment reduces crime -- it's a great deterent. Morally, it's only right that a man who kills should in turn be killed (of course, I mean by the government, not an individual taking law into his own hands).

While your class may not appreciate this (assuming it's a public school), the death penalty is also Biblical. In the Old Testament, capital punishment was used repeatedly, several times on direct command of God. And His law gave the use of it to government.

In New Testament times, God says that a sword is given to government to mete out justice to the wicked and to protect its innocent. Swords don't signify 10 years to life. Some people despise the reference, but the Bible does say "an eye an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." The government is given power by God to end the lives of those who took the life of someone else.

The Top Crusader · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2003 8:56 am Post subject:

I like it, but O'Reilly's banishment idea is interesting...

hawkeye · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2003 9:09 am Post subject:

In addition to what Jared said, it is not right by any measure for the victim of a vicious crime (or their families) to have to support the criminal (and even give him/her a comfortable life) just so the criminal can get out on parol, and harm again.

Capital punishment is justified when merciless crime is committed. Why burden victims more than neccessary?

Jacob Isom · Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2003 3:57 pm Post subject:

I'm all for the death penalty. Tax dollars are adding up and the prisons are filling up really fast. What are we going to do with all these guys in the future? They get cable TV and even I don't get that! (not that I plan on or want to get it)

Also I'm for it because the Bible does say it's okay to do such things.

rosie · Inquisitive Member Joined: 07 Jan 2003 Posts: 1197

hawkeye · Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 1:06 am Post subject:

Rose: Your right. If anyone thinks about it, all a homeless person with no or weak values/morals is commit a (bad) crime and they are (in their mind) rewarded with a better life than they could get otherwise.

So, in reality, keeping people in prison encourages crime in many ways, one of them being by those who only have to gain....

If we implemented the death penalty across the board, not only would crime drasticly drop, but we could use the money saved from cable tv, heating/cooling, food, etc to provide food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless without adding to taxes!

(Not that helping the homeless is the governments job, anyway.....)

Coralfish · Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 2:18 pm Post subject:

Which, in a way, brings up the whole subject of welfare and government funded programs, which so many people are arguing about right now. Last year someone read a list of some of the many government-funded groups and agencies, some were so outright ridiculous that it is insulting that taxpayer funds are being used for these. Our governor recently enacted a new welfare reform program(which I think is necessary as it was getting out of hand). The new program actually requires you to be employed before you can even consider recieving government funding. Imagine that?......You can imagine the protest that quite a few have voiced........having to work first? Unthinkable! Anyhow, so that I do not go completly off the topic, I agree with captol punishment, it is necessary in many cases, I believe, yet is avoided and the felon is allowed to remain in prison. I also agree with some of the previous statements that some of the prisons are just too comfortable. Prison, in all honesty, should be so bad that you never want to return. That is one of the main purposes is it not?

DrBlackgaard · Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 3:04 pm Post subject:

I completely agree with what most everyone has said so far. (Aren't I an agreeable person? Wink

) It's interesting to note that when the isrealites followed the old testament law, no jails or prisons were needed. Thieves payed back 4 times that of what they stole, or if they were unable to pay, they were sold as slaves. People who commited adultry, murder, homosexuality, etc. Were emedietly put to death, those who accedently killed someone were to flee to cities of refuge (where, BTW, they had to work to make a living for themselves and their families...they were not fed by the govornment like in prisons these days.) It was a far more efficiant system then we have here in the US today.

Jared · Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2003 3:45 pm Post subject:

Well, there were jails in Israel, Joseph. But I do agree on the theft point: restitution is far better than prison time!

For the criminal, it's a chance to not have to spend years in prison. For the taxpayer, it's the freedom not to have to pay for a criminal's room and board. And for the victim of the crime, it's a way to get what you lost back - and then some.

Of course, it might require some good hard work by the prisoner. GOOD!

And on the topic of prisons, I strongly support the so-called "hard labor." And I mean a lot more than license plate creation. What's wrong with the so-called "chain gangs"? They might as well do some work for all the state has to pay to keep them around.

When you think of prison hardship, you think of Alcatraz in the civil sense and Levenworth in the military sense. Why can't all prisons be more like that? Shouldn't serving time be a little more like serving time and a little less like free time? Citizens tax dollars shouldn't go to giving prisoners the best cable TV fare available. I mean, why does a prisoner need a TV? A prisoner needs very little. We should be humane -- I'm not suggesting solitary confinment for those guilty of stealing $30! -- but there's a reason people go to prison: because they broke the law.

They're criminals. They should be treated that way.