Poll: Are murderers forgivable?

[n00beffect]

Well, if it's proven and investigated thoroughly, that a person has accidentally, or inderectly, caused the death of someone else. Then, I suppose, it's forgivable. But only in that case. I don't buy the whole "mental instabillity" bullshit, that everyone get's away with today.

 

[n00beffect]

Just give me any thoughts you have. Personally, I hold to the idea that any act is forgivable, with the exception of first degree murder. To me, once you kill someone else, planned it out and executed them, you have crossed the line between human and monster.

What? Of course! There are many reasons why murder would be forgivable - for example if it is committed out of revenge.

Are you f-ing kidding me, or what?! And please excuse me, if it that's meant to be sarcastic, but it doesn't matter what the motive is, if it's intentional, then 4k you!

 

[zehydra]

Everyone is forgivable. The question of forgiveness rests on how willing YOU are to forgive.

Yes, I think we should forgive murderers, but we must protect ourselves as necessary, and if we need him/her to be locked up, exiled, killed or whatever, then so be it.

 

[omega 616]

Depends on the circumstances, I would think. What's the difference between killing someone on death row and letting the government do it?

If I kill a serial killer am I a monster? No, I killed one to save more and maybe revenged a few.

If I killed a little kid, then I am a monster.

It just depends on circumstances.

But what if you killed a little kid that was a serial killer? BAM, got you now!

Not really, I did it in priority order.

If the serial killer is a child they still die, like those ones in blood diamond ... except the main guys kid.

 

[Zeekar]

It's complicated. Obviously, murder isn't forgivable to you, so obviously on some levels and to some people it must not be "forgivable" -- But why draw the line at murder? What about rape? In my eyes, that's worse than murder, as murder can be justified to some degree.

Take these as examples: It's possible the person you murdered did something far worse and would do it again if not stopped. War is mass-murder, yet we justify it every single day, every single time. Should all parties involved be given the death sentence because they are unforgivable? Would that act in itself be murder?

In the end, I could forgive a true friend for anything they did. I have no right to be emotionally involved in anyone else. It's none of my business and I'm no judge or jury.

 

[Rex Fallout]

Just give me any thoughts you have. Personally, I hold to the idea that any act is forgivable, with the exception of first degree murder. To me, once you kill someone else, planned it out and executed them, you have crossed the line between human and monster.

But unfortunately life isn't that simple. If I planned out to kill Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, or even more modernly, Osama Bin Ladin, would I really be a monster? Or would I be a hero for saving people's lives?

And if we are talking about the Creator's forgiveness, then he forgives any and everyone for everything. As long as you really are sorry for what you have done and attempt to stop doing it. For example, you aren't forgiven for murder when you kill someone, ask for forgiveness, and then go out and murder someone else. Doesn't work that way.

 

[zehydra]

I disagree with the general consensus of "depends on why."

Is murder forgivable? I'd say yes. I'd say that all things are forgivable, no matter how terrible. No, I neither have proof, nor explaination for this.

Based on my experience and gut instinct, I'd say that the only time something is unforgivable is when the perpetrator doesn't want forgiveness. A man could bomb a building and kill a thousand people; their loved ones probably won't forgive him, but if he truely regrets the action, they could. Whereas a person could do so little as slapping you in the face, if they never care to be forgiven and would gladly do it again, you probably aren't ever going to think anything nice about them.

The way I see it, is that we should still forgive and forget the man who did it and didn't regret it, but keep him locked up or whatever since he has obviously proved himself to be danger to society.

That being said, even those who DO regret it, need to be locked up as well, for the same reasons.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Manslaughter, sometimes.
Murder, no.

I don't believe it's ever okay to take someone else's life. Murdering someone because they murdered does not justify it. Two wrongs not making a right and whatnot.

Saying killing Hitler would have been a good thing does not a clever argument make.

 

[___________________]

People who commit murder always have some kind of mental problem. No human murders another human because they want to. So yes I think we should forgive them. It's not easy but it needs to be done. Forgive them, understand why they did it and treat them. If they can't be treated keep them under the care of trained professionals.

Humans should have the backs of other humans and help them become better. Otherwise our species will become a fetid cess pool of cold, uncaring, individualistic, brain dead savages.

We should have already evolved from the "you bad me smash" phase.

Hired hands probably suffer from some kind of heavy trauma that leads them to think it's ok to be paid to kill another human.

War amongst humans makes no sense and that's probably the most condemnable act of killing. But people justify it with "he calls my god God/he calls my god Allah" or "he likes red/he likes blue" and then yelling "justice!!" at the end of every sentence. But even in that situation one should forgive all the killing because whoever does it is very unbalanced. Soldiers are trained to kill. Their natural disposition towards other humans is warped with ideologies and other factors that other mentally challenged people infect them with and that then send their brains back to the stone age when it comes to fighting on the battle field.

Forgiving murder and killing is the right thing to do. Hard to do but right, as is everything worth doing in life.

I'd lose my temper if someone murdered a person close to me but good thing I'm not the only human alive, that way people could stop me from going berserk on the murderer.

That's what I think anyway.

 

[zehydra]

It's complicated. Obviously, murder isn't forgivable to you, so obviously on some levels and to some people it must not be "forgivable" -- But why draw the line at murder? What about rape? In my eyes, that's worse than murder, as murder can be justified to some degree.

Take these as examples: It's possible the person you murdered did something far worse and would do it again if not stopped. War is mass-murder, yet we justify it every single day, every single time. Should all parties involved be given the death sentence because they are unforgivable? Would that act in itself be murder?

In the end, I could forgive a true friend for anything they did. I have no right to be emotionally involved in anyone else. It's none of my business and I'm no judge or jury.

question, would you consider torture worse than murder?

 

[Youma]

We don't forgive for their sakes, we forgive for ours. Both personally, bloodlust is not healthy; and for the sake of keeping society together.

 

[Zeekar]

Snip.

question, would you consider torture worse than murder?

I don't know.

I'd rather live with the scars and memories of excruciating torture than be dead. On the other hand, if I knew someone I love had been tortured, but lived, it's possible that I'd be more enraged than if I knew they died painlessly.

It's a matter of perspective. For comparison, though, I consider rape to be torture, so it's at least as hard to justify as that.

I should probably retract my original statement of rape being worse than murder as a "scale of wrongness" is pretty inappropriate.

 

[KaizokuouHasu]

Just give me any thoughts you have. Personally, I hold to the idea that any act is forgivable, with the exception of first degree murder. To me, once you kill someone else, planned it out and executed them, you have crossed the line between human and monster.

What about rape? Is that forgiveable? Child abuse? Human Trafficking?

I'd say never forgive someone of a crime, and remember it always. After all, you forgiving and forgetting will not undo the past.

 

[CaptainKoala]

Let's say you're texting and driving and you run someone over; You're not a monster, sure you killed someone and thats horrible and you should be punished (a man-slaughter charge isn't too bad in a situation like this.) I say in this situation you totally deserve a second chance.

Now lets say you kill 10 prostitutes in a serial-killing rampage. You are a monster, you deserve nothing else but to be killed by you're countries government. Yes I support the death penalty and I don't much care how they are killed. As long as it isn't more brutal than the method they used in their killings. So a guy who shot people in the head would get a quick death, and a guy who tortured people would get some less-barbaric, but equally slow and painful death.

 

[Anthony Abney]

Depends on who they killed and why. If they killed a serial killer for justice or revenge or something like that, it's fine, but if they kill a bunch of homeless people because they smell bad, then it's not fine.

 

[kickassfrog]

it depends. If its in defense of your self or your family, or if it is the work of someone who is tripping on some bad drugs(Still pretty bad for taking those drugs, but if they didnt know what they were doing...) or if its because they have a serious mental problem(though id argue that most killers are mad).

premeditated is pretty darn bad, and a crime of passion isnt much better. And how do you define what a soldier does? Some people would call it murder, especially if the soldier was on the losing side. Especially if they werent fighting for a recognised country(like a rebel)

I don't think any of the cases you listed are murder- self defence is manslaughter at worst, and you might even be able to get off with it, depending on the circumstances. I also think being on drugs or insane would not carry a murder charge.

I would also like to declare a rule that assassinations of horrible dictators be declared assassination, and not murder.

But, yes, as an example, I would forgive Jack Ruby for murdering Lee Harvey Oswald.

 

[TyrunnAlberyn]

It really, really depends on the circumstances.

 

[Murderous Steve]

Yes for The ending of a life is but a drop being taken from a sea of filth.

 

[minnull]

Murder is not forgivable. No matter what the person did that lead to their murder, there will always be someone that mourns their loss and will be unable to forgive the murderer. Saddam Hussein was mourned and so was Osama Bin Laden. No one is truly forgiven when they commit murder because there will always be a person(s) that are too emotionally affected by the loss to allow forgiveness.

 

[randomsix]

Listen up buddy, I'm going to give you the answer. The answer to this question and every other philosophical question that seems to be asked all the time on the escapist.

Ready?

It depends. It depends on things, lots of things.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

The blameworthyness of any act is utterly dependent on the context in which the act occurs. No exceptions.