The Death Penalty - A Necessary Evil?

[Roohi]

hey! i chose a very similar thing for my tok topic! to what extent is it justifiable the death of the victim. need some advice regarding this specific question.

p.s i am refering to the Delhi Rape Case.

[Luka Petrovic]

hey! i chose a very similar thing for my tok topic! to what extent is it justifiable the death of the victim. need some advice regarding this specific question.

p.s i am refering to the Delhi Rape Case.

Well if you read this thread thoroughly and find some key points to research I'm sure you could make some great arguments for your TOK topic!

[eros]

The death penalty is just an easy way out for the criminals who are sentenced to it.

In my opinion, a life sentence in solitary confinement will teach the criminal a much more valued lesson and his/her regrets will be mounting and the mind will take over. For one's mind is one's greatest enemy. It is a much better punishment.

[Jake Bennett]

I've never liked the death penalty because I think as human beings, we don't have the right to judge whether or not someone deserves to have their life taken. I don't think it's necessary to take one's life anyway. As humans, most of us at times let a lot of powerful emotions largely influence our decision making and a case that would win the hearts of the people would make the chance of the criminal living slim. Also, anyone committing an act that people would consider the death penalty suitable; that person would most likely be mentally ill. I've always thought that the nordic countries' idea of "justice" is the best as they provide very comfortable environments for criminals to live in, possibly rehabilitating over time and changing their perspective on society. Locking someone up in a prison or any other form of punishment will not make criminals learn from their mistakes. Plus, criminals would have no reason to commit such acts or escape if they are living so comfortably (unless they're mentally ill). Yes this form does take away a lot of the taxpayers' income but I think it's worth it to shape a better society as a whole.

Just because someone commits something like a murder, how would inflicting harm back on them help? IMO the death penalty is just a federally accepted version of "an eye for an eye".

Edited February 17, 2014 by Jake Bennett

[sameera95]

The problem with the so-called "life confinement" in jail is that these people are often set free many years later as allegedly "changed", and then these people do it again. I don't understand this justice system, especially when the lives of the victim's relatives have been scarred forever. If someone willingly did this to a person in my family or a friend, I wouldn't want them to get away with it at all and I wouldn't deem it fair for them to wait out their life in prison, if only to be released again later. What's the point of keeping them in prison anyway? It's a waste of time, space & money (and tax payers' money too). What really gets to me is classing these people as 'mentally ill', sure they don't think like the rest of humanity, but I don't think someone who can carefully plan and initiate a murderous act needs someone to look after them and care for them because they're "mentally ill". I would define a mentally ill person as someone with a mental disability (e.g. Alzheimer's) who requires constant care day and night and cannot possibly survive on their own, and certainly cannot willingly carry out a murderous act.

[Award Winning Boss]

The problem with the so-called "life confinement" in jail is that these people are often set free many years later as allegedly "changed", and then these people do it again. I don't understand this justice system, especially when the lives of the victim's relatives have been scarred forever. If someone willingly did this to a person in my family or a friend, I wouldn't want them to get away with it at all and I wouldn't deem it fair for them to wait out their life in prison, if only to be released again later. What's the point of keeping them in prison anyway? It's a waste of time, space & money (and tax payers' money too). What really gets to me is classing these people as 'mentally ill', sure they don't think like the rest of humanity, but I don't think someone who can carefully plan and initiate a murderous act needs someone to look after them and care for them because they're "mentally ill". I would define a mentally ill person as someone with a mental disability (e.g. Alzheimer's) who requires constant care day and night and cannot possibly survive on their own, and certainly cannot willingly carry out a murderous act.

While re offending may be a problem, I doubt the death penalty is the way to solve that. It's more of a problem with the prison system itself rather than the fact that they're still alive. For violent crimes the re offending rate is usually under 3% (for the US).

Where else would you put tax payers money? This statement gets brought up all the time without 1) offering an alternative and 2) realising that the death penalty is very expensive. For example, California has spent over $300 million per execution since 1978.

Your last statement is just a misunderstanding of what it means to be mentally ill. There are people who are capable of looking after themselves to a certain extent and do not need 24 hour care while being mentally ill. On the other side of things, people can be mentally ill to the point where they cause harm to themselves and to other people. The simple fact that they're harmful people doesn't make them less needy of care. That's like saying you can only be physically disabled if you need someone to bathe you all the time.

[sameera95]

The problem with the so-called "life confinement" in jail is that these people are often set free many years later as allegedly "changed", and then these people do it again. I don't understand this justice system, especially when the lives of the victim's relatives have been scarred forever. If someone willingly did this to a person in my family or a friend, I wouldn't want them to get away with it at all and I wouldn't deem it fair for them to wait out their life in prison, if only to be released again later. What's the point of keeping them in prison anyway? It's a waste of time, space & money (and tax payers' money too). What really gets to me is classing these people as 'mentally ill', sure they don't think like the rest of humanity, but I don't think someone who can carefully plan and initiate a murderous act needs someone to look after them and care for them because they're "mentally ill". I would define a mentally ill person as someone with a mental disability (e.g. Alzheimer's) who requires constant care day and night and cannot possibly survive on their own, and certainly cannot willingly carry out a murderous act.

While re offending may be a problem, I doubt the death penalty is the way to solve that. It's more of a problem with the prison system itself rather than the fact that they're still alive. For violent crimes the re offending rate is usually under 3% (for the US).

Where else would you put tax payers money? This statement gets brought up all the time without 1) offering an alternative and 2) realising that the death penalty is very expensive. For example, California has spent over $300 million per execution since 1978.

Your last statement is just a misunderstanding of what it means to be mentally ill. There are people who are capable of looking after themselves to a certain extent and do not need 24 hour care while being mentally ill. On the other side of things, people can be mentally ill to the point where they cause harm to themselves and to other people. The simple fact that they're harmful people doesn't make them less needy of care. That's like saying you can only be physically disabled if you need someone to bathe you all the time.

I understand your point, but surely you can't say this to every single murderer out there? What would you say to people that are the likes of Ted Bundy? He went around raping killing brunettes because they reminded him of his girlfriend who dumped him.

[Sandwich]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26273051

Just an interesting perspective on the death penalty, from the point of view of somebody in charge of carrying it out.