As is often the case I have mixed views on this topic.

The most pressing reason I can see for the death penalty is to protect others from an individual who continues to be a danger.

The realities of lifetime incarceration mean that prisoners will get opportunities to harm other prisoners and guards, they may get the opportunity to escape.
With a prisoner who continues to be an ongoing risk we end up with one of three options
- We place others at risk of harm - do we dislike the death penalty so much that we are willing to allow less serious offenders to be subject to rape, bashings etc as part of their incarceration or prison guards to be assualted intheir work?
- We keep the prisoner in inhumane conditions, welded into a cage and never let out for medical treatment or some something else secure enough to ensure that they can never hurt another human being.
- We execute them

No perfect answers in whatever we do but I struggle to see why others should continue to be placed at risk at the hands of repeat abusers.

R0bert

GUILTY VERDICTS.
One more thing I forgot to say before about guilty verdicts: even though I agreed that with all the new DNA testing mistakes are not common, last year or so there was an article about forensic scientists in USA crime labs who were caught falsifying lab tests to prove a defendant guilty. This happened in several states and was not a one-incident corruption thing.
Point is that even with our near-perfect technology, we need to take human error, corruption, bribery and fraud into consideration.

I also want to repeat that I am very concerned that racism and wealth may play a role in sentencing people to death.

Rizz,
I’m sorry to hear that you have been to hell and back. I hope you have found help.
You sound like an amazing and compassionate person, I hope things will work out for you.

continued

RObert,
You're too bright so early in the morning! Good points; I considered them. I do understand your struggle; I'm struggling with some values as well. I do see your points but I've tried to make a few comments to support my view against the death penalty.

“The realities of lifetime incarceration mean that prisoners will get opportunities to harm other prisoners and guards…”
The death penalty can also be a motive to murder. Prisoners have been committing murder inside the prison with the intent of being executed. http://www.fadp.org/killfordeath.html Without possibility of the death penalty there would be no motive to kill for those prisoners who want to cop-out life in prison.

“ We place others at risk of harm - do we dislike the death penalty so much that we are willing to allow less serious offenders to be subject to rape, bashings etc as part of their incarceration or prison guards to be assualted in their work?”
Prisoners on death row spend many years, even 20 years, waiting for execution or may die before it’s their time to be killed.
It’s not like they’re being sentenced to death and executed the week after. I believe that people on death row are just as likely as any other prisoners to harm or rape others, or escape.
Increasing security may reduce this risk.

We don’t need to keep prisoners in inhumane conditions- I believe in treating all prisoners in a civil way.

Yes, dangerous prisoners need to be kept away from others in a high security prison- but still need humane conditions. Just the basics but no luxuries: like a clean environment and hygienic toilet facilities, nutricious meals but no treats etc.

Robert..I agree with you wholeheartedly, thereis no perfect answer to this problem. I guess the best way I can put it is that laws have to be put in place to best serve the needs of the greater good.

Sometimes we avoid the hard decisions, yes sure death seems like a repelling option for some, but to be honest I would not all that saddened if I knew a child murderer and rapist were being executed on any given day.

Yes Celivia..you are right.. there is room for error and corruption but still and even so this decision to implement the death penalty would take into account those very real variables..that is human nature.

Lets say for instance that given your scenario of a evidence tampering, that yes we know that these corruptions take place and in a very small percentage of cases some one was wrongfully executed , this would still not negate the very real fact that overall and for the good of communities ,we would have a much safer enviroment for our children.

As Robert says no one option is the ideal..this question is fraught with moral dilemmas but we must keep in mind that the rights and safety of the most vulnerable in our community is ultimately what we are striving for.

I think the option of surgical castration as mandatory is a good option and far less controversial.

Taurus (and others)
I agree with castration for pedosexuals.
They still got their hands though!
Perhaps chop these off as well (LOL).

But seriously
Yes I do agree with you and RObert that there is no perfect answer or solution to this problem. Whatever decision we make, there are positive and negative sides about the solution. All we can do is try to choose the least imperfect solution to match our values.
We all agreed that murderers, esp murderers of children should never again be in the position of re-offending.
We agreed that they must be kept away from communities for the rest of their lives.
I agree with you that the rights and safety of the most vulnerable in our community is what we should be striving for.
I think that from there our views start to diverge.

I believe that life in prison without parole would be the least imperfect option because this would be sufficient enough to protect vulnerable people (children) in our community.
If there have been mistakes, corruption, racism or power and wealth factors involved in reaching the verdict and this is revealed laterat least the prisoner is still alive to be set free.

If the only reason for people to believe in death penalty is that this option is not safe enough because these murderers can still kill in jail or can escape, I think they should think of solutions to those problems.
First of all, as I said, a prisoner on death row can kill or escape as well, given the length of time they spend on death row.
Also, prisoners who have been convicted of murder could be microchipped so they can be easily tracked when they escape.

Some people want ‘an eye for an eye’, but I don’t agree that emotions and revenge should be part of a legal system. We don’t rape rapists, or inject drug dealers with heroine, and neither should we kill a killer.

BTW I just received an email that it’s World day against the death penalty tomorrow! http://www.amnesty.org.au/Act_now/campaigns/adp/features/world_day_against_the_death_penalt

I think Celivia..as much as we dont want to believe it the 'eye for an eye' mentality is probabilty the correct one..

When we commit an offence that heinous against children we come to believe that society is based upon certain set of laws and expectations..that we all live by the same code..that society does not tolerate certain behaviours and each violation, according to its severity will be dealt with under the rule of law set down.

Why should we allow these 'pple' to be locked up, 'rehabilitated' and be given any form of 2nd chance or respect afforded them as a small baby or childs small lifeless cold body lies rotting in a grave courtesy of that poor misguided soul?
He turned out the lights of a child forever and now the taxpayer and society has to pay for him and even be afraid that somehow thru a legal loophole, or escaping, or overcrowded prisons,he may become a real threat to our children again and will in most cases commit exactly the same crime.

An eye for an eye..the only way to go.

We should save our indignation and sympathy for those who deserve it..