to not want to bring back the death penalty

[chickensaladagain]

at work today on our break, we weren't shirking lol we got onto the subject of the phillpotts and everyone was saying they would bring back the death penalty!

I said I didn't agree with it because
a) mistakes happen
b) how can we, as a society employ someone to kill people
surely that's not a sign of a civilised society?

plus death is too good for some people if they are in prision -in prion they are denied family, friends -freedom

they then started with a great long list of horrible crimes saying 'what about if this happened' and ended up asking me if someone brutaly killed my dcs would I want the death penalty then -I still said no

why does it take so much for them to accept I don't believe in the death penalty?

Apart from anything else, the Philpotts were convicted of manslaughter not murder. I don't think even the USA execute for second degree murder, do they?

That was done by The Innocence Project Nynaeve, 18 people exonerated who'd served a combined 229 years in prison.

Good argument for not bringing it back under any circumstances.

YADNBU

My dad (usually a fairly chilled person) came out with the "they should be shot" comment about the Philpotts. What, for incredible stupidity? Because that is what it boiled down to. There are many many things wrong with those people, but setting fire to a house to rescue the occupants is extreme stupidity.

More generally, I don't see how you can make murder a crime and then exonerate it if it is government ordered. Completely wrong.

I read a book called "Guilty of Insanity" about death row by a psychologist. Excellent book. It covers the executioner of death row inmates in one of the chapters and guess what - he is as mentally disturbed as the people he is legally murdering. No shit sherlock.

YANBU. I agree with your op!

What are the percentages of murders? something like 95% are one off spousal murders. 7% are committed by the insane (Sutcliffe etc) and 3% are by bad/evil people. (not correct statistics but close enough)

The crime of murder doesn't exist in legislation, only in common law. The whole point of our judicial system is to look at mitigating circumstances.

So hypothetically, all murderers should face the death penalty? So what about the 85yo man who cannot cope with his 83yo wife with altzheimers and smothers her out of desperation? Murder is murder after all.

Our legal system isn't perfect, but it's the best model the world has got, with 1,000 years in the making.

If you want to turn back to more rudimentary styles of punishment - I'm all for the village green and lobbing tomatoes at someone. A bit of ritual humiliation in front of your peers would serve much better than a badge of honour ASBO.

vote for me<

I can think of a couple of people I'd like to see in the pillory

Rotting fruit rather than stones though.

It is not one of the political options in uk

"
It's a bit stupid to make murder against the law and then be able to legally murder someone."

But in fairness we imprison people for kidnapping and imprisoning others.

I agree in not wanting the death penalty back, just positing an argument against the "killing is wrong therefore we shouldn't kill" logic