Poll: More punishing; Death Penalty or Life in Prison

[likalaruku]

Oh, I forgot about Rich People. Clearly if you've got cash, prison is not as much of a punishment as it is for poorer people. They usually buy their way into a short house arrest, but when they DO go....

https://taylortcastro.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/the-rich-famous-vs-everyone-else-part-1/

http://izismile.com/2012/06/29/luxurious_prison_in_norway_46_pics.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-30883157

 

[lunavixen]

I know that. My point is everyone on the firing squad could easily be a dsigruntled guard intentionally misses the heart so the death isn't so quick and painless.

Also I find it amusing how they thing having live and blank rounds actually means a difference. Anyone who's spent time firing rifles knows the difference between a blank round. Be it by the sound of the shot firing or actually loading your weapon. I find it incredibly negligent if the people firing the weapons aren't physically checking and loading it themselves. So it's either some big bullshit lie to make the public feel better, or incredibly reckless on the Department Of Corrections part.

The guns are loaded by an arms master, it's done as a measure so that no one specific guard has the blame for the fatal shot, either they all share in it or none of them have it. Most firing squads aren't done by soldiers, it's done by typical law enforcement officers or jail police (well, it is in Indonesia at least), they may not notice the difference as readily, especially if they are young and train with a mixture of bullets. They'd maintain their own rifles, it's just the bullet loading is done by the arms master. Also, there is only one volley, if the shot is not fatal, the coup de grace happens quickly, there wouldn't be as much suffering as if they were left to bleed.

Wax bullets have also been known to be used in place of typical blanks, they give a more realistic recoil but are not fatal.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/477378/pinoyabroad/news/how-an-indonesian-firing-squad-carries-out-the-death-penalty

 

[Ryotknife]

considering he would be sent to the Supermax prison if he got life alongside other terrorists where even the Ex-Warden of the place said that going there is a fate worse than death, yea i would say he got off light (the prison is so harsh that many inmates go insane from isolation). It really depends on where you spend your time, not all prisons are equal.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/us/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-supermax-prison/

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Honestly, when I heard it sounded like a mercy killing, but I know America does take it beyond "cruel and unusual" a lot of the time. For one, he's going to possibly spend the next twenty years on death row with nearly endless appeals. He'll get death dates over and over again, knowing he's counting down to the end and filling him with dread every day. The guards are going to beat the shit out of him at every opportunity and otherwise he'll be in virtual isolation. And when they do lethal injection, they often miscalculate the anesthetic and the convicts suffocate slowly and experience the cardiac arrest while paralyzed. We don't even kill pets that way. If we did kill people humanely, then it prison would definitely be worse, but I'm not so sure when it's execution. Of course, because he's a terrorist, the life sentence he would get would almost certainly be 100% isolation which is a horrible thing to do to any person.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I would imagine it would depend on how |bad/sexually aggressive/violent| the |prison/inmates/guards| |was/if any/were|, and how long and painful the specific type of death would be.

 

[Grey Edwards]

It amuses me the number of people that sympathize with a man convicted with mass killings. Even if you have reservations about the court system potentially convicting an innocent man, this hypothetical says his guilt is not in question. It's 100% true, no room for what if's. So many want to see him repent for his actions, as if him being sorry for what he did is going to bring all those people back to life, or make their families just accept the loss of their loved ones.

But hey, let's worry about the feelings of someone that's complete scum.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Honestly, if I were sentenced and I knew I had absolutely no shot of ever being released, I'd request the death penalty. The idea of sitting in prison for 50+ years sounds way worse to me than a quick death.

Well, I take that back: give me one year to figure out if I can bust out of this prison, and then if I've determined no way in hell, then yeah, shoot me.

 

[zumbledum]

i think death is the bigger penalty. its amazing how strong the human mind is when it comes to making whatever is the reality of your day to day existence the base average on what your expectations are based.

 

[DerangedHobo]

My question; is it a bigger punishment to put someone to death or is it a bigger punishment to have them rot in a maximum security prison?

And there-in lies the problem with all of this. Everyone wants a punishment, everyone wants this **** to burn in the deepest darkest pit of Hades for eternity. Have none of these people heard of "he who fights with monsters"? The worst part is the mindless hatred and brutality that goes along with this, a bunch of screaming mongoloids all cheering for the death of another because "they are the evil one and we need to punish them" like it's the fucking Colosseum.

And to think, people call themselves 'civilized'. The whole thing makes me pretty fucking sick.

To answer your question: The biggest punishment is being used as a conduit for everyone's hypocritical, ego-stroking murder fantasies.

 

[DerangedHobo]

So many want to see him repent for his actions, as if him being sorry for what he did is going to bring all those people back to life, or make their families just accept the loss of their loved ones.

By all means, what will his murder/incarceration in a cage for the rest of his natural get? Precisely? Write me a fucking list here, draw me a diagram.

But hey, let's worry about the feelings of someone that's complete scum.

Oh sweet sweet irony.

Edit: Grammar/Typos

 

[tippy2k2]

My question; is it a bigger punishment to put someone to death or is it a bigger punishment to have them rot in a maximum security prison?

And there-in lies the problem with all of this. Everyone wants a punishment, everyone wants this **** to burn in the deepest darkest pit of Hades for eternity. Have none of these people heard of "he who fights with monsters"? The worst part is the mindless hatred and brutality that goes along with this, a bunch of screaming mongoloids all cheering for the death of another because "they are the evil one and we need to punish them" like it's the fucking Colosseum.

And to think, people call themselves 'civilized'. The whole thing makes me pretty fucking sick.

To answer your question: The biggest punishment is being used as a conduit for everyone's hypocritical, ego-stroking murder fantasies.

I'm not 100% sure I get what you're going for here so could you clarify for me? You say the "He who fights with monsters" line so if either life in prison or the death penalty is what you want, what would you want? Or did you say which one you want and I'm just not getting it?

Also, as the OP, I will say that I'm very surprised at how split the numbers are. It is (Virtually) an even split between the two options; kind of fascinating to see the different philosophies come out when you can take out the "real life" part...

 

[ccggenius12]

(do the guys serving life ever even have people investigate whether they actually did it or advocate for them?).

Yes, particularly in cases based on eye-witness testimony and circumstantial evidence. Forensic technology is improving rapidly, and eye-witness testimony is worse than useless the vast majority of the time. Who would have thought that individuals with their own personal agendas, and cops pressured to punish SOMEONE, ANYONE for the crime could possibly be anything but perfect, eh?

 

[DerangedHobo]

Snip

The half drunk, in-coherent point (which veered completely off the OP but oh well) was referring to the people who come out of the woodwork and start calling for the death of people like this. The "He who fights with monsters" reference was illustrating that when you call for the death of this person or you support the death penalty, you are stooping to the levels of barbarity that they did. Calling for his death because he's 'evil' is doing the same dehumanizing that he did to his victims. As for which one is 'worse'? That's a moot point. That's the wrong (moral) viewpoint when it comes to 'justice'.

Edit: Typos

 

[Tsun Tzu]

First we have to address the issue of tax money, since if you sentence them to death you're paying quite a damned lot in legal fee-

Take away all the red tape. There is a 100% chance that the person in question is guilty. There is NO chance that they did not do it. There will be NO red tape at all; if sentenced to death, it will be right then and there with no appeals and no time (eliminating one of the biggest problems a lot of people have in that it's cheaper to let them rot then it is to go years and years of appeals). If it helps your decision, you get to decide how he dies (whether you want to save money and just slit the guys throat or whether you want it to be painful like lighting him on fire) but they HAVE to die (so no beating him to the point of death and letting him live). Did I cover everything in terms of arguments against the death penalty? If I did not, pretend I did and assume it's not a problem.

Ok, well now we're basically arguing on the level that I always do on the subject, since I'm of the mind that, due to corrupt officials, the death penalty is...a problem because of the documented cases where innocent individuals have been sentenced.

However, in cases where there is absolutely no room for corrupt bullshit or evidence tampering? Have a trial. Then off 'em. Preferably in the cheapest, most humane way possible.

TLDR (you wound me D; taking away the politics and red tape, what's the worse punishment; life in prison or death penalty?

I suppose it depends on what's worse for ya- expunging life and its potential (which goes hand in hand with belief in an afterlife) vs. a life time of forced confinement with square meals and access to some modicum of entertainment/exercise.

The latter strikes me as 'worse,' since your freedom is being taken from you until the day you die, while the former is a pretty quick, cut and dried end to it all.

Thooooough the latter is definitely worse for tax payers. Those resources could have gone to any number of better things. Like, I dunno, housing for the homeless.

More of a net loss for humanity, really.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Life in prison, which is a death sentence. You will spend the remainder of your days waiting for it to end, knowing that you cannot escape. Bare minimum human contact, what you do get is not very pleasant. This would be particularly applicable to terrorists in an American prison.

From a very personal perspective, I'm an atheist. I don't think he'll be punished in any form beyond this life, so the worst thing that can possibly happen is draw it out as long as conceivably possible and make it clear that death is the only way out. They will never be free again. Death itself is the desirable carrot on a stick that is so close yet so far away.

If you kill them right away, they're afraid for a bit then all their problems are over.

On the flip side of this, if they DO turn out to be innocent, then it's a horrific and barbaric process and I view it as problematic as I do the death penalty due to all that they have lost and endured.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

This is a question with many variables: what kind of prison will the person be sentenced to? What kind of people will be kept there? What kind of person is he? Also punishing in what way? From a basic human rights perspective? Looking at how it will affect him or what will happen to him?

My basic thought is that death is the more punishing option, because people can adapt to prison. It is a mere shred of life, but a shred is more than death. But like I said, there's tons of variables, and if I was given choice between death and the rest of my life getting beaten up and under threat from psychopaths with next to no freedom or human rights, I'd probably think hard on it.

 

[Atomic Spy Crab]

They don't deserve hope, life in prison also allows chances for escape. This happened in 2012 when ISIS orchestrated a massive raid on a high security prison to break out Shakir Wahiyib and many others. Death leaves dreams unfulfilled, no hope, and you don't die peacefully typically.

 

[kyp275]

snip

Totally, we should free the guy immediately, maybe give him a couple more bombs to make up for all the inconveniences we caused him. Hell, we should free every criminals everywhere. After all, punishing them only brings us down to their level after all as you said. I mean, how dare we imprison people like Ariel Castro, by your logic that totally makes us the same as him.

As for the bomber in this case, all the people talking about being beaten up in prison etc. need to realize that had he been sentenced to life in prison, he would be serving it at the fed's supermax, which means practical isolation (23hrs per day) for the rest of his life, not much beating from fellow inmates there.