"The death penalty is inhumane"

The justice system is not concerned with "justice;" there are so many examples of people who commit heinous crimes and get a slap on the wrist or an unfair sentence. I'm too tired to dig up links at the moment, but I'll list some examples off of the top of my head from books and articles I've read.

1) A white man bombs a university or something, kills a bunch of people, gets life in prison.
2) A schizophrenic black man murders a woman and gets the death penalty.
3) A black man gets life in prison for stealing from a convenience store due to California's three strike policy.

Furthermore, the prison system is not concerned with rehabilitation. There is a prison industrial complex in America; imprisonment is simply the new frontier of slavery.

I believe that *most* people can be rehabilitated, and that not every crime must be met with blind justice. This means that we shouldn't lock people up and throw away the key. If a person is not a threat to society, there is no reason for him or her to be removed from society or punished. Take, for example, a murder in which a victim kills his or her tormenter; let's say that the murderer is the victim of bullying and so he takes it upon himself to kill his oppressor. While he is committing first degree murder, I doubt he would go on to kill more people. Situations involving crime are not always black and white; they tend to be rather mixed. Following suite, justice should be adapting to each crime individually.

What I find humerous in this entire debate is that those that claim this to be a Christian nation are the ones most often in support of the death penalty. The American prison system was built on the foundations of not only punishment but that of rehabilitation as well. As the for profit prison industry explodes across this nation it is no longer about either, it has become how many Americans we can throw in the cells to make an occupancy quota. And then creating an atmosphere outside where they cannot get meaningful employment or move forward with their lives causing them to go back to their life of crime and once again helping fill that occupancy quota. There will always be a small percentage of those that will be too dangerous to ever be let out of prison, but the death penalty and life imprisonment are contrary to all of Christ's principle teachings.

USA in the threshold of civil war? I don't know what's going on and why American media still refuse to speak, but a few weeks ago a fierce battle took place in Michigan. The fight involved American rebels and forces of, as they call it, Obama's regime. At least 380 men, women and children were killed while they disputed America's slipping down into one man rule. My grandma live in Michigan and she said that authorities even used aircrafts and bombed people right in the morning, everybody felt the wave of explosion, but media said it was some sort of industrial accident... Two days later citizens of Michigan saw US marines and a couple of A-10 Thunderbolts. When local reporter Bob Powell tried to get more information on the subject then he was detained by FBI and they took all data he was able to get. Natural Society also reported about the fight and said that level of radiation in the place is bigger than usual and that confirms that air bombs contained depleted uranium. Locals say that rebels own assault rifles and other equipment and that's the explanation of Obama's mass aggression against rebels, he is scared. Also people on the spot said they heard the sounds of extended operations and air strikes, so the deaths and injuries among locals have yet to be tallied... But for now it's clear that Obama started killing all objectors, right in the American land...

I thought the death penalty was about being a deterrent?
Its a shame there is no proof to show it works thatway

reply to post by Danios

Wow WTH was that?

Whats happening to ATS?...

Originally posted by apushforenlightment

Originally posted by MamaJ
If a death sentence is carried out there must be proof beyond a shadow of a doubt.... Solid hard proof and even then, is it right? Do two wrongs make a right? I dont know.

Eye for an eye? Tooth for tooth?

Just be bad enough where someone will in turn kill you if you are yourself a killer?

How do you be humane to all parties involved?

I agree that the situation sucks when that happens. Would you become the beast to protect the innocent blessed loving ones from other beasts if there was no other way, even if you had to pay the price of leaving the blissful home because you do not fit in there anymore and have to start over with karmadebt again?

Exactly, and at the end of the day two wrongs do not equal a right.

What are the alternatives for someone who is sick in the head and not as fortunate to have a sound working mind? Death or imprisonment? Neither is good for the troubled mind in my opinion. Rehab maybe? What if that doesnt work? Send them all to an island? Lol i will ponder more as there is just not an easy answer in my opinion.

reply to post by KeliOnyx


Do Christians have to be fools, do they have to believe the lies of the deceitful who create laws to protect them if they get caught doing wrong? I understand that people do change and can become good citizens sometimes but the people who are serial killers and serial rapists cannot be trusted to reform. There are many people in this world that take pride in their skills at deceiving others. They can twist the truth to fit their needs. Many of these have found a life in our legal and political systems. They can there help create laws to protect their kind.

reply to post by MamaJ


Some people cannot be reformed, their mind has created a desired way of thinking that is almost impossible to change. They will lie and deceive others to make them think they have changed. Some of these people are extremely intelligent. They are just following the wrong drummer. Don't be deceived by these people. I have known a few people like this throughout my life. They did no wrong to me but they did harm others. They pick on people they perceive as naive or weak.

reply to post by rickymouse


It is a very complex issue and there aren't any easy answers to solve them. By my own admission there are those that simply won't or can't be rehabilitated. But do we build the entire system on that minority? Or do we build it on those that can while keeping those that can't in mind. Right now the system isn't working for either category, it is working to fill the pockets of private enterprise. And yes the requirement is for them to be "fools" as you put it. To be Christians is to exercise forgiveness consistently and constantly, it is the forgiveness you give that is the measure of the forgiveness you will receive. It is incumbent on us to make sure there is a path to rejoining society for those that would take it, along with the responsibility of minimizing the impact of those that won't or are so broken they simply can't.

reply to post by OhZone

It isn't down to money. That is just part of the benefit of removing them from the planet. Keeping them would be akin to keeping that smudge on your cheek, that stain on your shirt, the moldy left overs in the fridge, or the dog poop on the carpet. It is never wrong to do proper cleansing.

it is always wrong to take someone's life, i do find it amusing that you are comparing a human to mouldy left overs or dog dirt, its nice to see that you care so much about life,

i think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one

Originally posted by gwynnhwyfar

Originally posted by canyouhandletruth
advanced cultures dont kill humans unless its for defence and a warning has been given

simple

I can't tell you how ticked off self-satisfied comments like this make me feel. But, my personal frustrations aside, how does our advanced culture justify this supposedly inhumane practice, when it is considered the only humane thing to do to "put down" a beloved pet that is suffering and in pain?

its the spirit that needs fixing so killing a person for a crime dosnt solve anything, they are then free to be born again and do the same, even more degenerate

we need to lock them up but with guidance on how to be a true human being, not an animal
also locking up a man and throwing away they key is not a help so possibility of release after they learn how to be a true human being and time served is best

a suffering pet is not a comparison

Originally posted by SGTSECRET
I think both are wrong also. At the same time, if all they are going to do is sit in a cage for decades what is the point in everyone else paying for that? If prisoners were used for hard labor during their sentences maybe that would add to the deterrence factor. People know if they get locked up they are going to sit there and wait for their time to be up...

People are spirits born into the material world to evolve
they need to learn how to be real human beings,the punishment needs to do this or they get worse

reply to post by KeliOnyx
eye for a eye you would have more anger control if you new the town was going to stone you to death

And the life penalty is humane....go figure!

Born...die...and live...where do you want to be?

Why not create an island where every murderer/pedophile/rapist etc... is sent to ?

No death sentence
No life in a box

Just a chance at surviving.

What they make of their island is up to them. Although we all know that such a place would be totally chaotic.

Still trying to figure out what to do with the different sexes. An island for each sex to make sure that no human being is born in such circumstances perhaps.

reply to post by HumanCondition


The death penalty. We simply don't have the money to keep certain people alive.

Prove me wrong.