Let's kill people to show them that killing people is bad...

I support the death penalty but it's really flawed. It should be left up to the states.

i dont care

I'm torn on this. On one hand, it seems inhumane;on the other hand the crimes committed by many individuals on Death Row are incredibly cruel and inhumane. So I would say the monsters who commit the truly horrendous and appalling crimes should be executed. However, I'm not sure capital punishment is a deterrent.

There will always be cases where the death penalty is the only proper response. This is not for jaywalking, petty theft, or tax fraud. It would be for indisputable murder cases and crimes that are beyond redemption. Capital punishment should be rare, but an available option.

yes yes yes.

or hey, we could continue to foreclose our homes and uproot our families without goverment financial aid and put it in the prisoner comfort fund for all those who victimized others heartlessly.

Sometimes Capital Punishment is the only thing that prevents inmates with stiff sentences from murdering the corrections staff that are hired to keep them in line!

U KILL, THEN , I THINK, U SHOULD BE KILLED. WHAT EXACTLY IS A SENTENCE OF, 120 YEARS? WHY LET SOME1 LIVE ON (even in prison), ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE LOCKED UP FOR MOLESTATION &/OR MURDER? I THINK THE VICTIMS FAMILY SHOULD DETERMNE WHEN & HOW THE "BAD GUY" DIES OR IS PUNISHED.

WE should get rid of the polluted people instead of infecting others!!

I think that there are some crimes that absolutely deserve the death penalty.

I think executions should remain legall and remain in the back of criminals minds as a possible end to thier next crime. I am sorry, but if you commit murder you should face death as the consequece!

I am against this with the exception of truly sick murders committed by monsters. If  we get rid of this, we'd better find Texas a new official state pastime.

I have three primary arguments against capital punishment.

The first one is that I don't think we should have the right to say who lives or dies. Just because they killed someone, doesn't necessarily mean we should kill them. Two wrongs don't make a right.

The second reason is that the justice system isn't perfect. What if we execute an innocent person?

The third reason is purely financial. It often costs more to execute someone than it does to keep them in prison for life. The legal fees to execute someone (appeals, etc.) can be through the roof.

  The entire CriminalJusticeIndustry is a money making endeavor and has nothing to do with truth or guilt. [Money is why marijuana, a harmless non-addictive plant is illegal, while addictive substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are legal. 750,000 people fill our prisons for marijuana.] Who gives TheStateInc the authority to play God and outlaw a God-given plant?

I can say this because I was a Dallas police officer for many years before changing careers. In fact, I would be struck by the defense attorney from serving on any jury, but in actuality, I would be the defense's best friend! I have seen first hand how cops lie and embelish arrest reports and how DA's go for a conviction and could care less about guilt or innocence...period. Once in TheSystem, nobody will be your friend, including your own lawyer.

Those with money are spared death and incarceration and those without will suffer the consequences. BTW, defense attorneys do NOT work for their clients; they work for the Court.

Because of the above, I am against the death penalty because our CROOKED court system is arbitrary and the verdict in many cases is just plain wrong, as is the upholding of Unconstitutional laws, which all jurors have a moral responsibility to NULLIFY, regardless of the evidence or instructions from the robed tyrant in the court room, by finding the defendant innocent!!! [Unconstitutional and illegal laws like marijuana possession, possession of a gun [2nd Amendment folks! No license required!], and others. You get the idea.

Our system leaves a large possibility that an innocent person will fry, or at the very least, be incarcerated as an innocent person. A man on TX Death Row was just released last month because DNA evidence cleared him of the crime. He'd been in jail for 20 years!!

I have no problem with capital punishment per se. If they fried Charles manson, Richard (The Night Stalker) Ramirez or anyone else convicted with absolute certainty, it wouldn't hurt my feelings. What I do have a problem with is the wrong person being tried, convicted, sentenced and executed, and later found to be innocent.. Somehow "Oops" just doesn't do it for me. It's not like I'm going to go out and protest against it, but it is something to consider.

I spent most of my adult life arguing for capital punishment. However, since it seemingly cannot be applied equally, I am against it now. If Susan Smith and Andrea Yates didn't deserve it, who does?

There should not be a mandate from the federal government on this. States should be free to decide on crime issues. I would say that the reinstatement of the death penalty has demonstrated remarkable success in many states. In New York, for example, violent crime has seen a 50% reduction since 1995, when the state reinstated the death penalty.

Absolutely!The only real way to stop a murderer from striking a second time.There should be no second chances!Exodus-21:14-But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor,to kill him by treachery,you shall remove him from my altar,that he may die.Exodus21:12He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.Update:Me and dpostosky agreed on something?

In all states? The states should determine for themselves. From a moral perspective however I am opposed to the death penalty for cases that do not pose a threat to the structure of our government or our institutions. I believe the goal removing threats to our society can be achieved through guaranteed sentences of life in prison. The retributive aspect to the penalty of death, though I can understand it from a personal perspective does not serve the common good. I also believe that those who are less fortunate are afforded less of a defense in many capital cases that should be afforded to someone on trial for their lives. The reality is the application of the death sentence is biased against the indigent and that I believe should raise moral doubts about the death sentence for those who believe in a forgiving culture that values life.

Absolutely. There has to be an ultimate price to pay for comitting the ultimate crimes.

I'm pretty conservative, but my stance on capitol punishment is probably my most liberal view. I would have a very hard time voting for any form of the death penalty. It's not that I don't think that there are murderers and even (in my opinion) child molesters out there that deserve the death penalty, I just have a hard time entrusting the most crucial decision that anybody could ever make on a manmade institution. No system we could ever invent could accurately measure guilt with 100 percent accuracy, and that is what I think should be necessary to execute. Im all for raising the burden of proof necessary, and I dont really have a problem with executing the guy that shot somebody in public or whatever, but every case just isnt that simple. I wish there was a perfect system that could decide who is deserving of execution, mainly because it would save a lot of money not having to put these people up in prison. But, there are also convicted criminals in prison getting their college degrees on my tax dollar and I have a way bigger problem with that. I say let the states decide, but I probably won't be voting for it.

Let each state decide. We're a country of laws and each state has its deliberative process. It's ironic that the federalists among us did not object when the federal Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional, effectively banning it on the federal level in every state. There wasn't much outrage against the tyranny of the judiciary then but, whoa, don't federalize this issue by obliging each state to comply with its legality. Sometimes a door swings both ways.

I agree 100 % with mr political. Couldn't have said it better myself.

It should not be legalized. Capital punishment is wrong, plain and simple. Who are YOU to take someone's life away whether they're guilty or innocent of a crime? Even the late Pope John Paul II opposed capital punishment.

Anyone who kills for any reason other than self defense (or if your child has been raped and beaten by a monster that needs to be eliminated) then that person deserves the same fate. Period. In fact, forget humane injections. Tie them up and allow those affected by the murder to beat them to death.

NO WAY!!! If we abolish ca[pital punishment, crime will go up.

First off, let's dispell this little myth that you can't be pro-life and in favor of capital punishment with a little common sense. Let's say we have a crazy serial killer who goes around a retirement community breaking into the homes of elderly senior citizens robbing everything they have and then he/she kills them? Okay, now lets say we have two adults who were party-goers well into their 30's and decide to have unprotected sex every night for a week. Surprise, surprise...they get pregnant. Can anyone tell me what the child has done wrong? Regarding captial punishment being inacted throughout the nation- I don't see why not. But let's not go overboard and start giving the death penalty for stealing some oranges at the grocery store. And don't give me any of this all the other countries don't have this BS because the last thing our country needs to become is a group of followers and conformists that have people of other countries making our decision.

The state should NEVER have the power to do away with an individual. Talk about your contradictions: the state makes murder a prosecutable crime, then turns around and murders with impunity!! As prisons are fazed out in favor of GPS-monitored house arrest, you'll see super-max installations dealing with only the most hard-core malcontents (many of which are in need of medication and/or mental redress). America should acknowledge what nearly every other country in the world found out long ago: the death penalty is pointless.

i'm iffy on this. tell you what, you ban abortion, you better ban capital punishment too.

Let the individual states vote on whether or not Capital Punishment should be on the books. This should not be a federal mandate. Let the people decide. . .