Death Penalty

Choose:

  • In certain, rare circumstance, I believe the death penalty SHOULD be an option

    Votes: 14 56.0%
  • I think in absolutely NO circumstances, whatsoever the death penalty should be an option

    Votes: 11 44.0%

  • Total voters
    25

hermanntrude

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jun 23, 2006
7,267
118
63
46
Newfoundland!
i've always liked the idea of a decent educational system (parents, environment, media and schools), which teaches kindness empathy and value for human life so that crime rates become virtually nil.

Bit of a long shot i suppose... sigh
 
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Fingertrouble

Electoral Member
Nov 8, 2006
150
1
18
57
Calgary
If always liked the idea of penal colonies. Gotta be some frozen sh!t hole in the far north we can strand them in.

What a great idea....we can have a few guards, just enough to take care of the sovereigty issue. We wont even have to erect fences, because if the prisoners decide to up and leave their nice warm billet were the get fed, then they will be come dinner for the polar bears looking to replace their foodsource due to climate change and the melting icecaps!

Sounds like a win win to me!
 

look3467

Council Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,952
15
38
Northern California
Unfortunately, the death penalty is an all or nothing deal. If Canada had the death penalty for rare cases, someone would have to decide when those rare cases occur. Over time, Canada would become like the US, deciding whether mentally ill people or bad children should be killed because they committed murder. It's a slippery slope. Civilized countries don't punish people with death. Iraq punishes with death. Europe doesn't.

I think Bernardo would be happier if he could die rather than spend the rest of his useless life in solitary confinement. In my opinion, he will suffer a lot longer; a worse suffering, by living very long. Do Canadians want to be like the Iraqis or Europeans when it comes to human rights?

The death penalty is left up to society to decide. God says, don't kill. But that saying has to do with malice in one's heart.
To kill out of justice has no malice.
Justice is in the law of the land, the people.

I used to have a boss, who like to say as a matter of greeting: "What do you allow?".

So, it is a matter of what does society want to allow?

If justice is not met, than evil will run a muck!

Peace>>>AJ:love9:
 

Alexander

Electoral Member
Jan 31, 2007
117
3
18
Vancouver, B.C.
I think people should be punished depending on what they did. A human life is a delicate, rare, and one of a kind thing. If a murderer killed someone and they just get a slap on the wrist, it makes it seem like another blow to the family that their lost ones life wasnt worth anything. The only way to repay murder is by death. It will stop a lot of crime if people know they will get killed for killing someone else.

As for rape, if someone is driven enough to rape an innocent person, I think he should be neutered. Yes, I know it sounds cruel, and there is no way I would ever want that to happen to me but I don't want to get raped either. I don't know how to punish a woman for rape. How many women rape people anyways?

If someone is to steal, then take the cost of whatever was stolen, double it, and have that stripped from their possessions by the company they stole from (or person).

I think jail is one of the stupidest punishments. In the past it wasn't so bad but now we give them a bed, free meals, tv, and other things... I think they should be fed crappy food in an empty jail cell (well, give them a toilet...) instead of being in what some homeless people would call 'luxery'.
 

L Gilbert

Winterized
Nov 30, 2006
23,738
107
63
71
50 acres in Kootenays BC
the-brights.net
It's all well and fine to mumble about wrongful convictions and mentally incapable people, but the special cases I had in mind were people that knew better, did it several times and unless caught would continue. Get it? People like Pickton, Olson, etc. There's no, nada, zip, zilch doubt about innocence or guilt, and they are definitely not mentally incapable of rational thought.
Um, no logical reason not to put them outta everyone's misery. To keep them at a cost of $85,000+ per year is an asinine insult to the public.
 
Last edited:

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
848
113
71
Saint John, N.B.
Execution should be extremely rare......for serial killers only.

My big problem with the death penalty is the chance of error.......

So, here's the proposition.

If a serial killer is charged, and has done multiple killings at different times and places, try him for one killing at a time, maximum three trials..........each trial should be held in front of a different judge and jury, each should be for a completely separate episode..........on his third consecutive conviction, take him outside and shoot him. Period.
 

MikeyDB

House Member
Jun 9, 2006
4,612
63
48
Canadian society frowns at the notion of self-determined euthanasia, and yet if a dog bites someone more often than not that animal is executed. This society endorses putting an animal down if its lame or believed to be ill beyond recovery. This same society is prepared to allow government to squander the future of our children in the name of preserving "prosperity" by playing silly games around global warming. Governments collect millions from the sale of tobbacco products and then demonize tobacco users. Innocent people have served lengthy prison terms some only being cleared as the result of DNA testing. James Rosko a known sociopath having provided police multiple opportunities to put him away takes the lives of four police officers and Anne McLellan and Guliano Zachardelli lied through their teeth about what happend...just like Stockwell Day and Zachardelli lied about Maher Arar....

In this "just" system why anyone bothers giving any thought to keeping a piece of human waste like Pickton alive under the aegis of protecting the innocent from wrongful conviction and execution is perfectly typical....
 

temperance

Electoral Member
Sep 27, 2006
622
16
18
I cant understand why Mr pig is still alive ,hes a arrogant murder er and seems not to realize the extent of his damage ,why must we waste money time and thought on such a person ,Death penalty and or banishment from clan has been around for along time and has its place ,but I would really need to see the system straightening up on who would be eligible for death ,Id hate for a wrongly accused person to die
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
Hmmm, I could go for penal colonies. Would they require guards? And would the guards be incorruptible?
DNA testing has freed many an innocent man. Good. And it should unmistakeably convict many more. Surely, as forensics improves, so does certainty. And if we have certainty, justice no longer needs to constantly second guess.
There is evil in the world. Lots of it. A responsible justice system should acknowledge that.
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
7,326
138
63
California
Do away with capital punishment for any crime and that leaves justice room to review in case of error.

A fairly large statistic of criminals housed in penal institutions probably will never commit again unless they return to drugs or whatever lifestyle got them incarcerated in the first place.

Crimes of passion are often a one time only event.....

Mental instability in many instances can be rehabilitated by effort and pharmaceuticals.

There is a large working force to be drawn here doing social improvement for our countries which remains untapped excepting the very mild cases..... and I think we ignore this force thinking on
recitivism rather than rehabilitation....

Give a man a honest day's labor for a very small bit of money which he can improve his life within the institution and I believe he will find a path to self-rehab..... at least for the vast majority of whom we rarely hear....becasue they are not causing any grief to anyone any more....

Education could be offered to improve their minds.... skills could be taught and developed with the possibility of earning a good living.... and the hope of being released one day on the merits of how
they behaved over their sentencing times.

Warehousing is just that.... it does nothing... is costly and creates an even more unmanageable person when released than the original reason for incarceration.

Gangs are prevalent because people need protection.... they are treated like animals...they will live like animals.... treat the inmates like possible contributing humans....they will respond.... not all of them....but many.... enough to make it a worthwhile project.
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
You're playing fast and loose with the term 'murder' there. It is a state's obligation to ensure it meets its first and most important purpose: the safety and security of its citizens. And what's a citizen? Foremost, one who commits to a nation's laws.

Imprisoning criminals for a period of time that reflects the nature of the crime is a very acceptable way of protecting society. There is no need to kill criminals when we have an option that doesn't require killing anyone.

A very wise woman (my mom) once told me that if all you had to pay was money, you got off easy. If society only has to pay to house the criminals, they got off easy but if one person has to be elected to kill the criminal, then IMO all of society has been compromised.
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
It's all well and fine to mumble about wrongful convictions and mentally incapable people, but the special cases I had in mind were people that knew better, did it several times and unless caught would continue. Get it? People like Pickton, Olson, etc. There's no, nada, zip, zilch doubt about innocence or guilt, and they are definitely not mentally incapable of rational thought.
Um, no logical reason not to put them outta everyone's misery. To keep them at a cost of $85,000+ per year is an asinine insult to the public.

People like Pickton, Bernardo, Olsen are labelled "dangerous offenders" and are never released into society again. That protects society.

We have to realize that if the death penalty was re-introduced in Canada, it would probably only be applied to dangerous offenders at first. However, eventually it would become like every other country that has the death penalty and even men that completely snap and murder their pregnant wives would be put to death ... along with many other people that in theory could be re-habilitated.
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
Your mom was wise but I wonder what her answer would be to the career criminal. Smart and predatorial individuals. Incorrigible. Addicted to the rush that comes from selecting and successfully victimizing another person or organization. And able to continue their heartless careers because we refuse to acknowledge what they are. Most criminals can be dealt with through existing channels. I agree. But determined killers and career criminals cannot. They depend on our weakness to be what they are.
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
Execution should be extremely rare......for serial killers only.

My big problem with the death penalty is the chance of error.......

So, here's the proposition.

If a serial killer is charged, and has done multiple killings at different times and places, try him for one killing at a time, maximum three trials..........each trial should be held in front of a different judge and jury, each should be for a completely separate episode..........on his third consecutive conviction, take him outside and shoot him. Period.

Wouldn't Guy Paul Morin be dead using this method of justice? Have you read the book Redrum? He was innocent but the courts kept finding him guilty ... haven't read the book since about 1994 but I seem to recall several trials although one might have found him not guilty ... and then there was still another trial.
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
Canadian society frowns at the notion of self-determined euthanasia, and yet if a dog bites someone more often than not that animal is executed. This society endorses putting an animal down if its lame or believed to be ill beyond recovery. This same society is prepared to allow government to squander the future of our children in the name of preserving "prosperity" by playing silly games around global warming. Governments collect millions from the sale of tobbacco products and then demonize tobacco users. Innocent people have served lengthy prison terms some only being cleared as the result of DNA testing. James Rosko a known sociopath having provided police multiple opportunities to put him away takes the lives of four police officers and Anne McLellan and Guliano Zachardelli lied through their teeth about what happend...just like Stockwell Day and Zachardelli lied about Maher Arar....

In this "just" system why anyone bothers giving any thought to keeping a piece of human waste like Pickton alive under the aegis of protecting the innocent from wrongful conviction and execution is perfectly typical....

Isn't it a bit of a stretch to compare the justice of dogs with the justice of humans?
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
Your mom was wise but I wonder what her answer would be to the career criminal. Smart and predatorial individuals. Incorrigible. Addicted to the rush that comes from selecting and successfully victimizing another person or organization. And able to continue their heartless careers because we refuse to acknowledge what they are. Most criminals can be dealt with through existing channels. I agree. But determined killers and career criminals cannot. They depend on our weakness to be what they are.

My mom, who has lived a long and happy life, still has that old fashioned belief that all people are basically good ... although they sometimes do bad things.

It seems rather drastic to conclude that if existing channels are not working, we should just kill the bad guys ... why not review and revamp the channels.
 

Ariadne

Council Member
Aug 7, 2006
2,432
8
38
Re-reading your comment, tamarin, I am reminded of the countless people that victimize others on a daily basis without commiting murder. They get a rush out of bullying, but society tries to deal with them in socially acceptable ways. It doesn't always work, but at least an efffort is made. Whether people bully, victimize and commit murder or just commit the former should not alter how we respond to the problem.
 

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
15,441
150
63
I don't think every murder is necessarily applicable to a death sentance, certainly I think the most haneous murders would be.

Stats Canada until recently kept rather shoddy records. They did not include criminals who served in Provincial penitentiaries, nor did they take into account convictions which did not include prison sentances. When all is accounted for now, the deceptively low amount of repeat offenders becomes much higher, and more accurate. In 1999/2000, six out of every ten offenders had at least one previous conviction. Among the repeat offenders, 72% had multiple convictions. In the Federal penitentiaries, nine out of evry ten offenders had a prior conviction in adult or youth court.

So we have a problem with repeat offenders. What do we do? Stiffer sentances, keep them behind bars for longer? Will that help them rehab?

I think we should give juries the option to recommend death penalties in the sentancing phase. It is supposed to be a jury of peers and the Judge has the last word anyways.