Quote:
Originally posted by zzgundamnzz
Your missing one of the points in an execution... its not only punishment for the guilty but its also a warning for those who commit crimes.
Seeing some guy get fried would be more initimidating than seeing someone take the eternal sleep...
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Why do people keep using such a ridiculous argument?
The death penalty does NOT scare off potential criminals.
The reason for that is that those who are about to commit crimes either believe they will get away with it, or haven't thought about the possibility of getting caught at all.
For some reason, people who believe in the death penalty always seem to think that criminals will use some reasoning along the lines of: "I don't really care about the risk of getting buttfucked in prison for the rest of my life, but the death penalty sure would suck".
Obviously, that is not the case. If they believed they would get caught, life in prison would also be a deterrant, as would prison sentences as low as 10 years. But, they don't think they will get caught, aren't aware of the possibility or simply don't care (people who kill other people often aren't exactly in a state which allows for a calculation of the possible risks).
Not only is the idea of the death penalty as a deterrant flawed, so is the idea of the death penalty as punishment.
Crimes that get punished with death generally are so brutal and appalling that you'd think that nobody in their right mind would even consider committing them. And, quite obviously, that line of reasoning is correct. Sane, well-adjusted people indeed do not commit such crimes.
Humans have a natural resistance towards killing other humans. It is a well-known fact that in war, many soldiers fail to actually shoot at their enemies. And remember, soldiers actually receive specific training to overcome that barrier.
The people who commit extremely violent crimes generally suffer from one or more psychological disorders, such as sociopathy, or have grown up in an environment which taught them to be violent.
Consequently, in almost all cases, the death penalty actually punishes people mainly for factors they have no control over.
Then there's also the matter of the moral position society takes by executing its unwanted elements. A society which kills criminals actively promotes an "eye for an eye"-attitude among its citizens by leading by example. Ironically, it's exactly that attitude which causes much of the violence within western societies.
Making the maximum punishment life in prison would do just as good a job at protecting society as the death penalty, and it would be a much less barbaric way to deal with crime
