Should the death penalty for murder be reintroduced?

[JLM]

What is worse to the ego? Corporal punishment or no physical/emotional contact with a women for 99 years?

Corporal punishment would be rather mild by comparison. :smile:

 

[Bar Sinister]

I'd support re-introducing the death penalty only for severe cases of multiple murders, serial killing, repeated sexual assaults and the sort..... and only when it is without a question of doubt that the accused is the guilty one, either by a mountain of evidence or the accused giving their own confession.

In any case that there is a shred of doubt remaining or even if the accused at the end continually claims they're innocent, the death sentence would be invalid.

There is a problem with instituting the death penalty based on even those restricted conditions, and that is the fact that so far as Canada is concerned there has never been a murder conviction where the judge or jury was not 100% certain the accused was guilty. In Canada there is not supposed to be the slightest element of doubt in any criminal conviction; a factor that has no doubt allowed a few guilty persons to walk free. Anyone who advocates the death penalty has to be willing to live with the fact that there will be a few executions of innocent people, no matter how many safeguards are in place.

 

[Kreskin]

Williams tried to commit suicide in April. I'm glad they kept him alive so he can spend the rest of his life in a shoebox beside Bernardo and beside some guy who yells "47!" every waking minute.

 

[talloola]

yes, death is too easy for many of these types.

being locked up, and not able to 'call the shots', for the rest of their lives is a greater punishment.

even clifford robert olson did not receive death penalty, and after all these years, we know where he is,
and he can't change that, doesn't matter how much he tries to harrass anyone, he still can't go free, and
never will and the longer he lives, the longer he will suffer and remember, and not
be in control of anything.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Death penalty.... this has always been a tough one for me. In principle I disagree with it, and not simply because of the risk of wrongful conviction, though that's certainly a large part of my assessment of it. But I look at a guy like Col. Russell Williams, who's just started his 25 years with no parole sentence, and I sort of do a double take. He's never going to get better and there's no question that he's guilty, the best thing that can happen to him is that he lives out the rest of his life in prison and dies of natural causes, and I wonder why we taxpayers should bear the cost of feeding and housing the bastard for however long it takes. But that's rooted in a personal and deeply emotional revulsion against the man and what he's done, and it seems to me there are larger principles involved. It's about the rule of law and how we treat the lamest and weakest and worst among us. Most days it comes down to this for me: in principle I don't want to kill anyone and I don't think I want the state killing people on my behalf either, so no, no death penalty. But I'll immediately concede that anyone who molested or murdered anyone I care about better not cross my path, I'd cheerfully choke the life out of anyone who did that. And there's the other issue: if you support the death penalty you better be prepared to be the executioner.

 

[JLM]

yes, death is too easy for many of these types.

being locked up, and not able to 'call the shots', for the rest of their lives is a greater punishment.

even clifford robert olson did not receive death penalty, and after all these years, we know where he is,
and he can't change that, doesn't matter how much he tries to harrass anyone, he still can't go free, and
never will and the longer he lives, the longer he will suffer and remember, and not
be in control of anything.

I think it will be especially tough for Williams, a man who up until this development was a man of great accomplishment and in control of many people. NOw he will have to live with accomplishing nothing and he greatest control of someone will be conning some other scum into stealing a cookie from the kitchen. :lol:

 

[ironsides]

Sacrifice of a few so the many can live a safe life. (collateral damage) (oops) How ever you want to call it. Nothing is nor will be perfect. It is the possibility of "Parole" after 25 years that worries me. Kill somebody, be good for 25 years or so and walk out a free person. (we are talking about 1st degree premeditated murder and before mentioned sexual crimes) Keeping someone alive providing health and recreation can be expensive.