Death Penalty

Let me start off with a few more statements about the death penalty and lethal injection. Arguments for the death penalty. "Incapacitation of the criminal. Capital punishment permanently removes the worst criminals from society and should prove much safer for the rest of us than long term or permanent incarceration. It is self evident that dead criminals cannot commit any further crimes, either within prison or after escaping or after being released from it. Cost. Money is not an inexhaustible commodity and the government may very well better spend our (limited) resources on the old, the young and the sick etc., rather than on the long term imprisonment of murderers, rapists, etc. Anti-capital punishment campaigners in the U.S. cite the higher cost of executing someone over life in prison, but this, whilst true for America, has to do with the endless appeals and delays in carrying out death sentences that are allowed under the U.S. legal system where the average time spent on death row is over 12 years. In Britain in the 20th century, the average time in the condemned cell was from 3 to 8 weeks and only one appeal was permitted. Retribution. Execution is a very real punishment rather than some form of "rehabilitative" treatment, the criminal is made to suffer in proportion to the offence. Although whether there is a place in a modern society for the old fashioned principal of "lex talens" (an eye for an eye), is a matter of personal opinion. Retribution is seen by many as an acceptable reason for the death penalty according to my survey results. Deterrence. Does the death penalty deter? It is hard to prove one way or the other because in most retentionist countries the number of people actually executed per year (as compared to those sentenced to death) is usually a very small proportion. It would, however, seem that in those countries (e.g. Singapore) which almost always carry out death sentences, there is far less serious crime. This tends to indicate that the death penalty is a deterrent, but only where execution is a virtual certainty. The death penalty is much more likely to be a deterrent where the crime requires planning and the potential criminal has time to think about the possible consequences…" (1). Ronald Reagan advocated lethal injection in 1973, comparing it to "putting a horse to sleep" (2) Following this line of thought, it may be the most compassionate thing to do for the prisoner. If they truly are evil, they cannot be happy. Why keep them locked up like a caged animal never to see the light of day again. If that's true, wouldn't they be better off dead?. The medical profession makes it difficult for physicians to assist in giving lethal injection through ethical prohibition. Still there are a number of physicians from different specialties who do not mind doing such work. A survey of 1000 medical doctors found "..,.many of the respondents in this study indicated they thought it was acceptable for physicians to participate in the various components of lethal injection, even to the extent of injecting lethal drugs" (2915, 3). It is my hope that if such trends continue, along with advances in medicine, will produce better executions with less complications. This would make the procedure more humane. Rebuttal Kbug made some plausible arguments, but she is wrong on the merits. She did not answer many of the arguments of the last round, including terrorism. She did not answer the basic thesis that if someone murders someone else or a whole group of people that they forfeit their own life. Kbug also made the case for me that we should expedite such criminal cases by saying the following: "We will say the young woman who was raped, tortured, and murdered is my sister, and after 10 years of appealing in courts I have had about my wits end to the system and want some sort of justice done because so far I haven't seen any. Is it better to let these families sit through years of agony as they way for their loved one to rest peacefully?" I agree! This does not, however discredit my argument that the death penalty should be a viable option for the death penalty to exist for hennas crimes. Let's figure out how to shorten the time between appeals with more accurate DNA evidence to make sure the right guy is executed and get on with it already! Cut down the 10 year appeals process and allow closure to occur in a timely fashion for everyone involved. My opponent is correct that there are two families that suffer when the death penalty is carried out. The family of the victim and the family of the accused. It is a horrible situation for both. We must not forget, however, who is responsible for putting those families in that position - the criminal. Kbug argues "Prison life is not a picnic for these men and women who commit these terrible crimes." She also reports "Men like McCarty have lost much of their lives to prison, and still suffer today from many results of prison life." Perhaps death row is a little different from other units, but I found cases where the inmates "run the asylum." Case 1: "Prisoner David, a former inmate at the California Mens Colony, describes himself as a comedy sketch writer. He is now incarcerated at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, Calif., and while he maintains his innocence and attempts to prove it by researching at the prison library, he has learned to channel his frustration with the prison and legal systems through online postings" (4). Case 2: Ralph Sowell, a crack dealer doing 21 years at East Jersey State Prison, boasts about dealing. "I've been selling drugs ever since I came to prison, and I've never been caught," he says. "You can make approximately $3,500 to $4,000 a week here selling drugs. Anything they sell on the street is triple in here. A $10 bag of dope on the streets goes for as much as $40 in here. And everybody wants a piece of the pie" (5). I am sorry that Mr. McCarthy and others are falsely accused, but the point is some prisons are too lenient. I also believe the truly innocent are probably the most adversely affected by the experience. The truly guilty do not care and cannot be rehabilitated. So again you have proven nothing except to state the obvious that it is terrible to be falsely accused. I would only argue that deathpenalty.com is one source of many that people can go to for information. They have just as much right to exist as your sources. Your resources may be biased as well, which I will rebut in the next round due to space. You commented "The idea that they must live on our tax dollars eating and sleeping is made to sound like a camping trip, but prison is not a family vacation." This is a silly and sarcastic statement that does not move the debate forward. There are many philosophical issues that affect how people spend their money, such as what charity to support or what services government should provide. I only said that these issues are beyond science and economics although they have to be considered. Ultimately it is about values….values….values! This is where philosophy predominates. My opponent failed to support her position and only made weak attempts at damaging the credibility of my arguments. Look forward to the third round. _________________ 1 http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org... 2 http://www.hangmansknot.com... 3 Farber, N. Davis, E.B. Weiner, J. Jordon, J. Boyer, E.G. & Ubel, P.A. (2000). Physicians' Attitudes About Involvement in Lethal Injection for Capital Punishment. Archives of Internal Medicine. October (160). pp. 2912-2916 https://www.meded-portal.ucsd.edu... 4 http://hubpages.com... 5 Wynn, J. Cozzone, C. Gray, G. Levin, A. Levin, M. & Pinkerson, D. (1996). Junk in the Joint: The Real Dope on the Prison Scene. Prison Magazine. February. pp. 48-51, 54-55.