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How do you feel about the death penalty when there's a good chance an innocent person could be wrongfully.....?

put to death? An innocent person could always be released out from jail but never from the grave. 125 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides and isn’t a guarantee we won’t execute innocent people.

The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in those that don’t.

We have a good alternative. Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty.

The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, mostly because of the legal process which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people.

The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed?

The death penalty doesn't necessarily help families of murder victims. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

being locked up in solitary confinement and rotting in jail is a much better punishment than being executed and its all over. It lets the perpetrator think about what he did for the rest of his life.

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    You wrote: To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither.

    The problem is not the death penalty, but rather the application. I say we may the death penalty sure and swift for rapist, murders, and child molesters and then we see if it is a deterrent or not. But even if its not a deterrent, it is the death penalty key word being penalty.

  • 1 decade ago

    I read somewhere in the bible that the death penalty should only apply if there are eye witnesses to the murder. I could live with that limitation.

    Let's make sure murderers don't get a second chance to commit a murder.

  • 1 decade ago

    You know I used to work in a prison and everyone in there was "innocent". I guess the people that died in their presence just fell on the knife or shot themselves? The female victims raped themselves then cut their own throats.

    You may not think much of the death penalty, but it sure cuts down on repeat offenders. If I had my way any one condemned to death would get 1 year to appeal. 5 days later the sentence would be carried out.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    You're incorrect. Every reputable study does show that the death penalty prevents murders.

    And there's been no cases of anybody being proven innocent after being executed in the US.

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