fireguy_31 said:
On Utilitarianism
Incarceration is all that's needed to keep those 100 from harming society, not the death penalty.
I can not argue that I do not have Utilitarianistic tendancies. Incarcerating them does not keep them from harming society. They harm other prisoners who are only incarcerated for a short time and have a chance of being rehabilitated. Those people have the right to be protected too. They will again become contributing members of society... unless of course they are abused inside prison and then they have a much higher chance of committing greater crimes on the outside once released. We do not need to create more victims.
If you can say, without question, that these people will be incarcerated for the remainder of their natural lives, without the possibility of parole, isolated from other inmates and guards at all times, without the ability to poison others minds through mail and visits... then I would be all for life in prison. But we all know that that's not the possibility.
fireguy_31 said:
On the problems
May I suggest: this statement shows death is impartial, and the justice system is not. Again, more proof our justice system -which is a precursor to the death penalty - is fallible. More reason to abolish the death penalty, that is: until our justice system becomes impartial.
That's not what I am saying. I think the justice system is not as fallible as everyone makes it out to be. I think that it is biased, and that it is rasist. I think that it's a human flaw that people see white people as somehow more civilized than their minority counterparts and so they get the death penalty less. That is what is wrong. I'm saying that more people should get the death penalty, not less.
fireguy_31 said:
On support
I'm not sure where your logic is anchored here. Are you saying this supports a death penalty argument? If so expand, in order to earn the logical stamp of approval.
Without question, you've done your homework. What i think you've failed to do is analyze your knowledge critically.
I have analyzed what I know carefully and objectively. I have, in college visited a prison as part of a sociology class to study their interactions with other inmates. I have talked at length with both my mother, who is a pastor of a maximum security prison in Colorado and a flaming hearted liberal, and my best friend who is a forensic psychologist and knows the human mind. The sociopathic mind knows no conscience when it comes to other human beings. They have, for some reason seperated themselves from society and lashed out at it (murdered, raped, assualted). They will continue to do so in most cases, as pointed out by the high recidivism rates I quoted from the DoJ. Those statistics do not include the most violent of these criminals, i.e. the people who are in for natural life or on death row as those people are never released so they do not reoffend. The numbers for crimes committed inside prison by these people is scattered at best, because most goes unreported.
I have thought at length about it. Debated it with family and friends for years. Attended candlelight vigils, and studied death penalty cases at length. I follow the Supreme Court rulings and am aware of upcoming rulings, like the upcoming Roper v. Simmons case this fall, which could landmark a decision to not give the death penalty to people who have committed a crime as a juvenile. Christopher Simmons, was 17 when he was arrested for the murder of Shirley Crook. The Missouri Supreme Court determined that juvenile executions violated the Eighth Ammendment's provision against cruel and unusual punishment. Simmons' death sentence was overturned, and the decision is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court for all juveniles. Hopefully, they will make the right decision as they have for people with mental retardation. We'll know sometime this fall.