State sanctioned murder has a long and appalling history of getting it wrong and killing the innocent. It also makes it hard to posit laws against murder when the state and society turns to it constantly to deal with those who transgress the law.

Dear misanthrope,

Lol. I think I'm going to like you.

It is indeed a truism that bullies tend to tear up when they get some of their own medicine back. Here's a tissue.

Dear individual,

The topic and my posts address the death penalty. You ask me for a solution to the break-ins in your area. Sorry but I don't think executing them is an answer.

That might seem a little flippant but therein lies a salient point. You wrote; “I agree, the state must not have such power, that's what juries are for !”, but you see they are not. In our system of justice juries only get to decide a person's guilt. It is the State, through the judges, that decides the appropriate penalty. Perhaps the act of stealing your lawn mower may one day incur the death penalty but I for one don't want that option open.

Dear Loudmouth,

The rare agreement between us should not go unacknowledged. Thank you.

You wrote on an earlier thread;

“It's worth remembering that Breivik, on the one hand, and al Qaida, on the other, are both prepared to use the most evil methods to exterminate innocent people, and that each of them extend their hatred towards Marxists, liberals and democrats.”

It is interesting observing the reactions of people toward the perpetrators of the horrific slaying of the British soldier compared to Breivik whose toll of innocent lives was almost unimaginable.

Until recently, I've always supported the lack of a death penalty in Australia, mainly due to my total lack of confidence in the laughably titled 'justice' system. Quite obviously, the possibility of executing someone later found to be innocent is too repugnant to allow. Furthermore, recent political tampering with long accepted principles of justice (double jeopardy & right to silence being two examples) demonstrates how irrelevant justice has become. That said, there are clear moral issues involved in sending our young people off to war where they are legally required to do their utmost to kill other young people, with criminal penalties applicable if they refuse. Closer to home, the media circus surrounding the late Denis Ferguson left no room for doubt that at least 99.99% of Australians would gladly exterminate him on sight. Mind you the same angst wasn't directed at certain other kiddyfiddlers who just happened to maintain a lower media profile although their indiscretions vastly exceeded those of the old bloke who 'looked like a pedophile'. I'd dearly love to see the results of a 100% genuine survey into public attitude on death penalty for a Denis Ferguson clone who had just had his way with their children. Somehow I suspect the attitude of even the most vocal 'anti death penalty' zealots would change. Personally I don't have a position one way or the other re pedophiles, however a humungous 'big stick', even one that will never be used is likely have a significant deterrent effect on seriously bad folk generally.

You ask me for a solution to the break-ins in your area. Sorry but I don't think executing them is an answer.
csteele,
That's exactly the reply I expected. You see, if we don't do anything to discourage petty crime then the seriousness of crime goes up until it reaches a stage when people like you turn around & tell us how terrible it is that such things happen. They happen because people like you refuse to do anything when it needs to nipped in the butt. That was my point.
My tactic is prevention so that no cure is needed. People like you ignore the problem until it is out of hand & then you accuse those who think somewhat more sober & logical as barbaric.
You, who condemns us for trying to stop barbarism & then barbarism occurs because you stopped us from preventing it, you are the real barbarian.

I agree with you entirely Saltpetre with your position on the death penalty. What you say is right, if you put them in jail, and the conditions are such it's like a holiday place and they laugh all the way, costing the public millions to keep them, year in and out.

I will agree to this. If there's some doubt as to there guilt, no execution should be considered at all, ever.

What really annoys me is when you get these mumbling fumbling mamma's boy, like the FAT 6ft 5inch mamma csteele bleating and threatening everyone who disagrees with "her", she's just a big girls blouse this little milk sop. I think that mamma csteele is 6ft 5inch only in her tiny little brain?

Saltpetre I respect the fact that you have the courage to speak you mind WITHOUT fear of favour, about the death penalty. PROVIDED there's no doubt about the persons guilt, as I said earlier? Some people say it's a cruel and unusual punishment? How is it so? You give them a fatal needle and that's it!

In my old country they would carry out death penalty every Friday, and as far as I know they still do it on Friday. You wouldn't dare do a murder, or peddle drugs knowing what's going to happen to you. There's still a lot of stealing though unless it's nailed down hard.

Gee Misanthrope, your 'old country' sounds just right for you now, what with all those executions going on and all.

Why on earth would you stay in such a weak country as Australia then?

Australia is known widely as one of the best countries in the world to live in, and refugees and would be immigrants all over the world clamour to get in here.
So why would we want to change it then?

The death penalty is an old-fashioned non-effective punishment that will remain something that happened in the past...