U.N. - U.S. trying to stop abolishment of death penalty

UN: U.S. & others blocking move to end death penalty

news.independent.co.uk

World public opinion has been so outraged by the continued use of the death penalty in the 25 countries that carried out executions last year, that a petition carrying 5 million signatures has been presented to the UN, where yesterday a small group of countries were attempting to block the historic vote on a global moratorium that could lead to an all-out ban.

(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 15-11-2007 by anhinga]

I know some heads around here are for capital punishment, which I have to disagree with in this seemingly 'modern' age.

I think a ban on this worldwide is a great step towards peace on Earth.... glad this measure got a lot of support through a petition.

Here's another relevant clip:

If last-minute "killer" amendments to a draft UN resolution do not scupper the initiative, the 192-nation UN human rights committee will begin voting on the measure today. If adopted, it will give a powerful moral boost to those campaigning for an end to the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

As of last night, the draft resolution had been sponsored by 85 states, including all 27 European Union nations. The United States, which executed 53 people last year, will vote against. So will China, which put 2,790 people to death last year. In fact 91% of all death sentences carried out happen in six countries: China, the US, Pakistan, Sudan, Iraq and Iran, where two men were publicly hanged for murder and robbery yesterday.

Among those countries -- geopolitical turmoil, war and poverty are commonplace, human rights should be first and foremost.


news.independent.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

web.amnesty.org...

[edit on 15-11-2007 by anhinga]

Originally posted by anhinga
I think a ban on this worldwide is a great step towards peace on Earth

How does that work exactly? Can you explain in detail because I'm not sold on that position. What do you propose be done with serial killers, rapists and child molesters? Keep them for life in prison, which costs money and energy? 'Rehabilitate' them and then release them so they can commit the crimes again?

reply to post by Beachcoma


...just voicing my opinion and bringing the article to the board's attention Beachcoma.

i might be seeing something that isnt there...

but arnt the U.N proposing bills that seem to be aimed at aggravating america lately??.

This is a very delicate issue. Generally speaking I would want to keep capital punishment. That is my views as to only what I see happen in the U.S. I have seen some reports of how capital punishment works in places like China, Iran. And it those cases I think I would be completely against it. So I don't think this will be resolved here or in the U.N. any time soon.

I have to raise my eyebrows at that "2800" figure of people executed in China. I was just watching that body-trade (on international organ sales) National Geographic special the other night and it said that China executes more people per year "officially" *coughcough* than the rest of the world combined.

Also, more people in the US die waiting to be executed than are actually executed. It's actually quite difficult to be found guilty of anything, let alone ultimately get executed here. I don't even have to comment on Sharia law countries, and certain countries in Asia and other places where records are shady at best - we make a whole production of it here and everybody knows about all the executions.

Personally, I believe we need to keep it, and everything we've learned since actual penal systems were developed in the 18th century has shown us that rehabilitation doesn't work but for rare exceptions at the individual level. Even if it did work, a person who doesn't respect the life of innocent others' does not deserve life. I rant, forgive me - the value of the practice in and of itself is for the many other threads.

edit: meant "...rest of the world..."

[edit on 15-11-2007 by AlphaHumana]

rehabilitation does wok,you just have to look at the scandinavian states and their policies on imprisonment.

denmark in particular,do it and youl see.

No one seems to notice, that if the UN achives this, they have successfully implented one world government. The question is, what's the next law. You may agree with this one, you may not agree with the next.

They won't stop anything.

Capital punishment is necessary in my opinion. And it in now way helps achieve world peace by abolishing it. Just because criminals don't have to worry about being executed, are they going to stop committing crimes? No. In fact, we'd probably see a dramatic increase in crimes.

Fear of death is probably the only thing holding a lot of people back from committing crimes already.

If all they have to fear is a place to sleep every night, free meals and exercise equipment, and maybe a little therapy, what's to stop them?

reply to post by logicize


I have noticed that, and wonder the same myself... like I posted in some thread, don't remember which one, it's not like *they* are going to say, "hey the one-world gov't is here!" Seems like it'll be something w/ specific cases, geopolitical occurrences and the like.

Sort of similar to this thread:

Law Of The Sea Treaty Will Usher In A One World Navy
www.abovetopsecret.com...

UPDATE:

news.bbc.co.uk...

So, Italy and Singapore lead the vote against. 99 countries voted against, but still "non-binding" -- article doesn't mention how many votes needed, 33 abstained and "influential" was the meeting.

Look into Singapore, huge economy for a tiny country (4 million) w/ minerals, chem and machines being their top exports, in the green im/ex ratio.

www.infoplease.com...

[edit on 15-11-2007 by anhinga]

I say we vote to let the resolution through, and every time the Security Council says anything about us violating it we veto the resolution and then hang another pedophile. I say we do it just to be smug little a-holes, since apparently that's all the world thinks we're good for these days.

Edit: I also think we should do it to prove that the U.N. is a pointless waste of time.

[edit on 15-11-2007 by mattifikation]

IMO we don't use capital punishment enough, and we need to get the hell out of the U.N. They need to start looking at themselve before they start telling other countries what to do.

reply to post by welivefortheson


To be honest it doesn't work too well around here either, 50% of the pedophiles still continue do their crimes. But because it's only 50% i'd say that no-one should be executed when they are sentenced for the first time. If you do it again, i'll lend a rope for those...

reply to post by northwolf


Hell, Northwolf, if is even worse then that, considering the pedophiles. The rate of recidivism is close to 90% in most of countries. And being a police inspector for years, I can tell you that even from my own experience. When one gets released from prison, he's very likely to start preying on children VERY soon. Some of them are trying to fight the urge to commit this crime very hard, but in most cases they will succumb to temptation sooner or later. Seems like some kind of addiction or a mental disease. My opinion is - they should be removed from society - permanently. But by means of imprisonment, not death sentence.

However, there are some criminals that make one wonder about the necessity of death sentence. Pathologic murderers. I can give one example. In my country, Croatia, one guy has killed a girl in a park, and a little bit later, an old man in front of his garage. He killed them 'just for fun'. He was arrested and imprisoned, but managed to get loose after he was granted a free weekend for 'exemplary behavior'. By chance, he had encountered a cop, who asked him for ID, not knowing whom he is encountering. He drew a pistol, and shot the cop - two times to the chest, and one to the head - execution style. He was soon located, but he had taken hostages. SWAT team was dispatched, and after several troubling hours, he surrendered. (I will never understand why wasn't SWAT sharpshooter, who had the murderer in the crosshairs of his TRG-42, given the 'green light'). Now he is in high security prison, and will serve for 8 more years. When he gets free again, only one question will be important - who is going to be the next victim?

I could make few more examples, but it wouldn't matter. In my country, there is no capital punishment. Capital punishment is generally not a good thing, but something I wonder - is there any other appropriate punishment for some of the most vicious criminals?





[edit on 16-11-2007 by Duby78]

reply to post by Duby78


Great, informative post... I hear you about the "what to do" question... but I think in a "utopia economy" more money could goto prison-care, rehab and the likes... for these released sex-offenders, they should put the tracking, ankle strap on them. For the people they do put those on, it's embarrassing to the point of not leaving their home, which is fine by me, but they could redesign those to mass produce, I don't know why they don't! Seems like an inexpensive way to know what they're up to.