Why does the US and so many of its citizens continue to support the death penalty?

[Patri]

Cain did not kill his brother premeditatively, he did it because he was angry. God said many times that capital punishment was acceptable.

And how many people have been executed for murders that were not premeditated?

 

[Patri]

You also cant bring up that God didnt kill Cain, and then just Pretend He didnt command the Israelites to execute a man for gathering wood on the sabbath, or He didnt personally execute hundreds or thousands of Egyptians on the first Passover

Neither you or I are God, I will not question his motives. Either way, I won’t use God to justify the death penalty and sentences dictated by humans like me, that I have no idea what their moral compass is or if they give out a sentence depending on how they woke up in the morning, if they quarreled with their spouse or dislike the accused or his defense attorney. God I trust 100% even when I don’t understand Him but not man. By the way, do you guys honestly think crime rate is lower with the death penalty?

 

[Ender]

People that are against the death penalty don’t feel the crimes committed are any less horrendous but we do see how destructive taking another life is.

I don’t think this is so. More often than not the discussion regarding murders revolves not around the victim but around the killer, about how hard his life was, about how society failed him. Even where the death penalty is applied it is usually reserved for murder with “special circumstances”. Apparently because a plain, vanilla murder doesn’t rise to that level of seriousness, and I think this is precisely because we have in fact become somewhat inured to the heinous nature of murder.

Is it possible for punishment to signify the gravity of crimes which deserve death if their perpetrators are never visited with execution? This seems unlikely. Consider the deviant who tortures small children to death for his pleasure or the ideologue who meditates the demise of innocent thousands for the sake of greater terror. Genesis says murderers deserve death because life is precious; man is made in the image of God. How convincing is our reverence for life if its mockers are suffered to live? (J Budziszewski)

 

[nfinke]

I won’t use God to justify the death penalty and sentences dictated by humans like me,

I never claimed every death sentence is automatically correct and just, that’d be silly. I’m saying because God has literally ordered a specific person to be executed in the past, you can’t say the death penalty in essence is wrong, or violates human dignity, etc, because then God couldn’t have ordered it done. A Christian (or a Jew for that matter) would have to admit there are some situations where it would be just and right to put someone to death.

By the way, do you guys honestly think crime rate is lower with the death penalty?

Another unrelated thing. Something doesn’t have to lower the crime rate to be justifiable. Administering justice is an entirely separate goal of the justice system from deterrence or rehabilitation.

 

[Patri]

I don’t think this is so. More often than not the discussion regarding murders revolves not around the victim but around the killer, about how hard his life was, about how society failed him. Even where the death penalty is applied it is usually reserved for murder with “special circumstances”. Apparently because a plain, vanilla murder doesn’t rise to that level of seriousness, and I think this is precisely because we have in fact become somewhat inured to the heinous nature of murder

Probably because that person is still alive and we want to avoid further loss and pain. But refusing to stop to see the person being sentenced to death as a person and if we could have done something to correct the hurt inflicted in that person as a child is worth looking into. Not every child has the capacity to manage hurt, anger and pain (if that is the case of a particular murder). I am no expert but if there are reports that some murderers abused as children with social workers being involved, then as a society, we should not just keep waiting at the end of the line to execute them, we should try to do things better and pay more attention to troubled kids. But it feels like it is too much of an effort and resources. Either way, I hope one day soon, the death penalty will stop existing and future generations can look back glad that it is no longer necessary.

 

[Ender]

But refusing to stop to see the person being sentenced to death as a person and if we could have done something to correct the hurt inflicted in that person as a child is worth looking into. Not every child has the capacity to manage hurt, anger and pain (if that is the case of a particular murder).

This is all true, and a state should do all in its power to help its citizens, but at the end of the day the responsibility lies with the person who commits the crime, and failing to hold him accountable for his actions is to deny him the dignity of treating him as a responsible, moral entity.

In not a few cases such external and internal factors may attenuate, to a greater or lesser degree, the person’s freedom and therefore his responsibility and guilt. But it is a truth of faith, also confirmed by our experience and reason, that the human person is free. This truth cannot be disregarded, in order to place the blame for individuals’ sins on external factors such as structures, systems or other people. Above all, this would be to deny the person’s dignity and freedom, which are manifested–even though in a negative and disastrous way also in this responsibility for sin committed. Hence there is nothing so personal and untransferable in each individual as merit for virtue or responsibilityfor sin. (JPII, Reconciliatio et paenitentia 16)

 

[Patri]

I never claimed every death sentence is automatically correct and just, that’d be silly. I’m saying because God has literally ordered a specific person to be executed in the past, you can’t say the death penalty in essence is wrong, or violates human dignity, etc, because then God couldn’t have ordered it done

Again, neither you or I are God. Like I said, I can’t compare God’s actions or judgements to that of men. I was really happy with pope Francis looked into the death penalty. It was something I found really difficult to mesh with my respect for life from birth till death.

 

[Patri]

This is all true, and a state should do all in its power to help its citizens, but at the end of the day the responsibility lies with the person who commits the crime, and failing to hold him accountable for his actions is to deny him the dignity of treating him as a responsible, moral entity.

Yes we are all responsible for our actions but not everyone has the same mental capacity and what I’m getting at is that in some cases, people snap when they can’t manage years of abuse, maybe we could do things different and not allow the same cycles to repeat themselves over and over again. Did you know that underaged and mentally challenged people have been sentenced to death? I watch cooking competitions a lot, some chefs tell of how they were going down a wrong path when they got interested in cooking, not saying they would have ended up being murderers but they were taking to a life of crime. I just want to be part of the solution and not just watch the sad loss of another life (if it can be prevented, I know some people have zero empathy and not everything is black or white) because a judge and jury sentenced him.
Did any of you watch the documentary on that blonde, blue eyed girl that was a psychopath? Due to the abuse she suffered as a toddler, not being able to channel those very negative feelings, she was not able to feel empathy and would have killed her brother (not from lack of trying). They were separated eventually for his safety and specialists focused on her, today she is a nurse and a productive member of society. Not every person can be stopped from becoming a murderer and doing harm, but I believe that if we did things different, we could change lives. My two cents, I know those prodeath penalty might not agree but this is how I view it all. Prevention is better than cure was a proverb I heard a lot growing up.

 

[blackforest]

I wouldnt think they were the only people on Earth who shouldnt have to face punishment for it just because I was their daddy.

Except opponents of the death penalty do believe in punishment. Just not punishment by death.

Is anybody able to provide any suggestions as to why the United States is so resistant toward the idea of abolishing the death penalty, given that this places us very much at odds with all otherwise comparable nations in the world?

I can’t explain why - or even if - this is uniquely American, but there’s a more concrete answer to your question. Death Penalty | Gallup Historical Trends

The #1 cited reason in this poll is vengeance. The second is the erroneous assumption that it’s cheaper to kill them then keep them in prison.

I was surprised to see that only 3% actually cite religious reasons.

The primary reason people in USA support the death penalty is out of fear that heinous criminals will be paroled or freed or somehow be put in a position to escape, and that once out, they will reoffend.

According to the above data, a maximum of 19% have supported it out of fear of repeat offenses. This was in 1991, when said fear was more prevalent.

 

[nfinke]

Except opponents of the death penalty do believe in punishment. Just not punishment death.

I’m fully aware. I was responding to the implications that if my children were up for the death penalty, my opinion on the morality on it would change.

 

[signit]

The primary reason people in USA support the death penalty is out of fear that heinous criminals will be paroled or freed or somehow be put in a position to escape, and that once out, they will reoffend. This has unfortunately happened, especially prior to about the 1990s. If people can be guaranteed that Joe Serial Killer will actually be locked up and the key thrown away and he won’t be coming out again, then they usually don’t insist that he be executed. This isn’t just my opinion as I used to do a lot of anti-death-penalty work and attended conferences, talked to experts etc.

Exactly my belief.

I am not a huge fan of the death penalty because I do not relish the taking of a human life, and because there is a possibility of making a mistake and executing the wrong person.

But, as my cousin used to say, if the person is not executed, there’s the chance that person could be set free to kill again. The person could kill a corrections official; the person could escape; the person could be set free by mistake (it has happened); if the person has an illness they could get a “compassionate release.”

So my ambivalence on the death penalty is not based on some hate or vengeance but on adequate protection of society.

 

[signit]

I too, have a problem with the death penalty for all of the times that the system has gotten it wrong. There are people that have sat in prison for long lengths of time, only to be later proven innocent.

The other side of that argument is that that shows that the system works; that is, that the system provides adequate opportunity for the person who’s wrongly convicted to prove innocence.

 

[Convert3]

I’m against the death penalty because I’d rather see them rot in solitary confinement thinking about what they did. Perhaps they will also repent before their natural death, and save their soul. We have a priest who works at our local maximum security prison and has done great work.

 

[Ender]

The primary reason people in USA support the death penalty is out of fear that heinous criminals will be paroled or freed or somehow be put in a position to escape, and that once out, they will reoffend.

This is an assertion without any evidence to support it, and while this is in fact a valid concern, it seems more reasonable to suspect that people support capital punishment out of a sense of justice; that death is the just punishment for the crime. It is too facile to simply condemn the motives of millions of people who hold an opinion different than yours. Why would you not assume, as this was until lately a Christian majority nation, that people believe in capital punishment because the Christian churches taught that it was just?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

There’s plenty of evidence to support it if you want to research it. Since I do not engage in protracted arguments on this topic and prefer to discuss it only with other attorneys, and have said my piece and don’t care if anyone agrees or not, I’ll be stepping off now.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Is anybody able to provide any suggestions as to why the United States is so resistant toward the idea of abolishing the death penalty, given that this places us very much at odds with all otherwise comparable nations in the world?

Have you ever heard the phrase “Everyone in America is Protestant, even the Catholics and the Jews”? There is some truth to that. American patriotism has been so deeply tied to the conservative Protestant ethos that they are, for many, the same thing.

 

[Irishmom2]

Do you really think the system works when an innocent man sits in jail for 28 years? How is he to prove his innocence when he has little access to legal help?
Many times, a person is not granted a new trial.

 

[neophyte]

Is anybody able to provide any suggestions as to why the United States is so resistant toward the idea of abolishing the death penalty, given that this places us very much at odds with all otherwise comparable nations in the world?

Because there are times when it is appropriate, and “everyone else is doing it” is a stupid reason to do anything.

 

[PatK63]

Because we believe in punishment that fits the crime. Because it is a deterred if it were used as it should be. Because some people have forfeited their right to live.

 

[Patri]

Who decides that someone has forfeited their right to live? It seems like the same thing the murderer decided. I find it scary and not at all comforting. In some countries it is decided some people should not live because they think or act in a different way. Nobody should have the power or right to take another life. A life they did not create.