Americans Back Death Penalty by Gas or Electrocution If No Needle: Poll

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A badly botched lethal injection in Oklahoma has not chipped away at the American public’s support of the death penalty, although two-thirds of voters would back alternatives to the needle, an exclusive NBC News poll shows.
One in three people say that if lethal injections are no longer viable — because of drug shortages or other problems — executions should be stopped altogether, according to the survey of 800 adults by Hart Research and Public Opinion Strategies for NBC News.
But many others are open to more primitive methods of putting prisoners to death: 20% for the gas chamber, 18% for the electric chair, 12% for firing squad and 8% for hanging.
nbcnews.com/storyline/lethal-injection/americans-back-death-penalty-gas-or-electrocution-if-no-needle-n105346
 
It makes no sense to me that there’d be a shortage of the lethal drug. Truly? How many people are being sentenced to the death-penalty every year?
 
I was hoping that this would lead to the abolishment of the death penalty but of course it would seem that many Americans are too stubborn to change our ways.
 
The article doesn’t mention the options given in the poll…an option such as life at hard labor, with no chance for parole should satisfy just about everyone…14-16 hours/day of hard labor would be a deterrent, and the fruits of this labor [wages] could be given to the criminal’s victims or their families…and if the criminal truly repented, the hard labor would be a just penance.
 
14-16 hours/day of hard labor would be a deterrent, and the fruits of this labor [wages] could be given to the criminal’s victims or their families…and if the criminal truly repented, the hard labor would be a just penance.
👍 Sounds like a good plan to me.
 
Sound like slave labor to me. 😦
Well there’s a simple solution from the greatest civil rights activist of our time: Chris Rock.

In one of his videos he says simply: OBEY THE LAW!!
 
I support capital punishment, and I don’t support hard labour as an alternative for execution. Justice is to punish the offenders, not create gulags.

Murderers, rapists and terrorists are undeserving of life and should be executed, an eye for an eye. Think capital punishment is cruel and inhumane towards criminals? What about their victims, do they not matter anymore?
 
I’ve never quite understood why this problem exists. Vets euthanize animals all the time, including large ones like horses, and they don’t seem to experience difficulties. We had a pet put down a few years ago and it was as peaceful a way to go as one could imagine. Beyond this, euthanasia is legal in at least Oregon, not to mention parts of Europe. Why is the execution protocol different than the one for euthanasia?

Ender
 
I’ve never quite understood why this problem exists. Vets euthanize animals all the time, including large ones like horses, and they don’t seem to experience difficulties. We had a pet put down a few years ago and it was as peaceful a way to go as one could imagine. Beyond this, euthanasia is legal in at least Oregon, not to mention parts of Europe. Why is the execution protocol different than the one for euthanasia?

Ender
Good question!

I guess the answer must be legal rather than medical since euthanising methods can feasibly be used in executions.
 
It makes no sense to me that there’d be a shortage of the lethal drug. Truly? How many people are being sentenced to the death-penalty every year?
It’s because the pharmaceutical companies that produce it refuse to sell it if it is to be used for murder. The shortage is caused on the supply side, not because of high demand.
 
I was hoping that this would lead to the abolishment of the death penalty but of course it would seem that many Americans are too stubborn to change our ways.
I agree! It’s so sad that we are one of the few remaining “civilized” counties with the death penalty. There is no humane way to end a life. These criminals still have a constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

My other argument against the death penalty is that we are trusting a jury of 12 people to decide that someone is guilty. Many of the jury pool don’t want to be there. I’m sure that there have been those who ignored their misgivings about guilt in order to get home sooner. Not to mention the fact that these juries are chosen at random… from the same people I deal with daily who can’t figure out how a 4-way stop sign works… How can we trust non-lawyers with no legal training to decide such complex matters as guilt in a capital case?
 
It’s because the pharmaceutical companies that produce it refuse to sell it if it is to be used for murder. The shortage is caused on the supply side, not because of high demand.
Surely, in that case, this would prompt some pharmaceutical companies to sell euthanizing commodities to the government since prices would be very high.
 
Surely, in that case, this would prompt some pharmaceutical companies to sell euthanizing commodities to the government since prices would be very high.
The primary manufacturers of the medications in question are not US companies, and are based in countries where capital punishment is illegal. They would suffer a huge backlash from their customer base in their countries.
 
It’s because the pharmaceutical companies that produce it refuse to sell it if it is to be used for murder. The shortage is caused on the supply side, not because of high demand.
So it’s due to conscientious objection.
Yet, it’s readily available for euthanasia.

My inclinations are against the death penalty for the sake of those who are innocent, and in the hope of giving the guilty a chance for interior repentance and conversion.

Still, in one case, we think it’s wrong to kill someone even if they’ve killed another.
In the other case, we think it’s ok to kill someone if one wants to kill oneself.

Sounds strange.

Edit: So, we won’t punish someone’s who’s actually taken a life, but we will abet someone in taking their own. However, since we don’t believe in capital punishment, then there’s no harm in our doing so. We’ve washed our hands of ourselves in the name of consent. Just strange.
 
It’s because the pharmaceutical companies that produce it refuse to sell it if it is to be used for murder. The shortage is caused on the supply side, not because of high demand.
When I read of the horrific crimes that those on Death Row have committed, I have a hard time calling their executions “murder”. Sounds like reasonable punishment to me. :o Rob
 
I’d say shelve the death penalty period. That way you are 100% sure you’ve never executed the wrong person. 🙂
The killers on Death Row in the Scranton area ARE the "right guy"s. IMO, they all have been hanging around for far too long. One even killed a teen while in prison. No sympathy from me, except for the victims. Rob:sad_yes:
 
It’s not really a surprise. Today criminals continue commiting crimes from behind bars and run their business from within prison. They order crimes, which get commited in the prison (against other prisoners and against guards) as well as outside in society. Society isn’t safe with someone who can continue to hurt others from within jail. Our government has a responsibility to protect our citizens from harm. Most citizens know this.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to confine them without any outside contacts, and that’s considered 'inhumane". If you can’t prevent them from continuing to harm others, then yes, the death penalty is what is needed. Murders and rapists especially.
 
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