11-05-2002, 01:12 PM
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Confirmed User
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 4,834
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wenchy
Okay fine, so you are against the death penalty. That's cool... I defend your right to your opinion. However, I'd like to know what the alternatives are.
You say, "Lock 'em up, don't rehab them, don't let them get an eduction." Fine. But why should I, and other taxpayers like me, have to support them? They aren't members of my family, I have no obligation to them, and frankly I resent the fact that they live better than most of the people I know... and all they had to do was break the law to get there!
My feeling on the matter is that ANYONE who is put in jail for anything, no matter how "minor" an offense, should damned well have to earn their keep. Bring back the chain gangs, the farms, the quarry workers. Or would you consider THAT "cruel and unusual punishment" also? The whole idea behind jails and prisons is to make people PAY for their crimes! To my way of thinking, that means that making them a "little uncomfortable" is NOT a bad thing.
Why should these people, who have broken the law and, in some cases, infringed upon the rights, life, and safety of others, be allowed to sit in a cell with cable TV, Nautlius equipment, a better law library than Harvard (something they are "entitled to" by law, mind you), and three squares a day while people like you and I bust our asses and pay taxes at a hideous rate to support them? That's not punishment! For most of these guys, that's like a vacation at the Ritz!
Not killing them isn't the answer. Revamping our system and making them PAY for their crimes, even if it means losing their own lives, IS the answer, IMO.
And to address your initial topic, I do believe the death penalty is appropriate in certain cases, but I don't really see it as a "deterent" anymore. Hell, when a CONFESSED serial killer like Ted Bundy can drag shit out in the courts for 12 years, I fail to see how that is going to deter anyone from doing anything. Yes, I believe in "an eye for an eye"... but I also believe that we need to make DAMNED sure we've got the right guy before we stick the needle in.
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Well, you pay taxes right? See it as a way to keep the streets clean. I strongly feel that if the jails were less lenient the cost would go down! personally I have no problem paying for people to be in jail! I have bigger issues paying for people that sit on their asses all day and refuse to work!!! (but that's another topic....) |
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