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What do you think about the death penalty for the UK?

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No way.

Just send people supposedly worthy of such a punishment to a prison with poor conditions.

All prisons should have poor conditions but hey ho.

Reply 21

United1892

In my opinion, the death penalty is not justice but legalised murder. Also life in prison is much more of a punishment than immediate death ever can be.

Reply 22

Flaccus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ObUPAhZ_pk

Reply 23

Joeyyy-

Difficult question.

On one hand I think some of the crimes people commit are so disgusting that they don't deserve to sit in a cell living an okay life. On the other hand if someone in my family committed a crime, I wouldn't want to lose them for good.

I believe in forgiveness, but some crimes some people commit you would think they deserve maximum punishment.

The thing is, if we started running the death penalty again, would it reduce crime?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 24

Flaccus

The death penalty is a reactionary thing. You could understand someone killing someone in revenge and rage, but for a jury to decide someone is to die and then kill them i think is dangerous. When people start thinking they are "right" and they have jurisdiction over others, you have a problem.

Reply 25

footstool1924

Original post by OU Student

Noo. It's hypocritical and what happens if years later, the person is found to be innocent? James Hanratty, Timothy Evans, Derek Bently, anyone? Yes ok, forensic evidence is better than it was back in the 1950s; but mistakes will still happen.

That's not an argument against the death penalty.

Our justice system is one that relies on the strength (and experience) of the barristers or solicitor advocate to manipulate the facts so that the defendant is made to look guilty or innocent (depending on what the barrister is trying to achieve).

Prosecutors are mostly young and under-paid. That is why the wealthy folks can afford to hire the best and most likely be found innocent, even if it is clear that they are guilty.

Add in the procedural rules and the standard of proof qualifications and the prosecution is really up against it.

If we change our adversarial system (2 barristers trying to manipulate the facts) to one where the court can determine for itself whether the accused is guilty, the situation will be one of proper justice, as opposed to the farce that it is now.

Reply 26

Tiger Rag

Original post by footstool1924

That's not an argument against the death penalty.

How isn't it? You risk putting an innocent person to death. And then what?

Reply 27

footstool1924

Original post by OU Student

How isn't it? You risk putting an innocent person to death. And then what?

In an adversarial system (which is the current system), perhaps.

Would you have any objections to the death penalty if the Court went on a fact finding mission, ascertained the guilt of the accused who had confessed?

Reply 28

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by Swanbow

I don't have enough faith in our justice system for the death penalty to be sentenced by it.

Furthermore it just seems a petty symbolic gesture, when looked at pragmatically achieves little and costs more than life imprisonment.

WHAT THE HELL I THOUGHT NO ONE ANSWERED THIS THREAD? I didn't get any notifications?
Yeah our government sucks, I have friends who love the occasional conspiracy theory (stupid stuff like tupac is still alive blah blah).

It doesn't achieve little though does it? You're potentially putting away a murderer/rapist. But I suppose the word potentially is key there.

Reply 29

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by Drewski

Title made me think you wanted to kill the UK...

ahahahaahaahahaha lol sorry I wasn't clear, nah I don't hate it THAT much

Reply 30

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by Mactotaur

I would say it depends on the method. A guillotine can't cost that much.

For the record I'm against capital punishment.

Why? Don't state the obvious pls.

Reply 31

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by Swanbow

And proudly invented in Yorkshire! (but the cost of appeals, blah blah blah, all that jazz)

What the hell? The guillotine or...? Think I'm lost

Reply 32

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by Mactotaur

What's the prosecutor paying for? In an appeal (in the British model at least) the judges in a court decide whether or not the conviction should be upheld.

this is getting technical

Reply 33

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by SausageMan

I don't support the reinstatement of the death penalty in the UK.

In my view much more attention is needed in how we rehabilitate prisoners for society, so that a person how commits a crime doesn't reoffend.

Nah I'm generally against that tbh, besides the odd wrongful conviction (idk how many there are), I think prisoners don't deserve anything. We were having a debate in biology once about whether criminals should be classified as sick and not evil....

Reply 34

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by stefano93

instate the penalty for heinous crimes (this includes child sex abuse, rape, murder, genocide etc)

yaaaassss we have a pro-penalty hereeee

Reply 35

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by ETRC

should be in place for serious crimes. crime rates would go down especially more serious ones.

I think the extreme punishments are probably the most effective (like in..idk North Korea or Saudi Arabia). Although they violate human rights...but so does the death penalty....whaaat?

Reply 36

RF_PineMarten

There is always a risk of getting the wrong person. Even with forensic technology we have now. Even if we only introduce it for cases believed to be "beyond doubt". I would rather have thousands of rapists and murderers allowed to live than risk the life of even one innocent person by introducing the death penalty. There is no such thing as a completely infallible justice system.

That is why I strongly oppose the death penalty.

Reply 37

LenaSim

I think there should be a new Australia like prison. Take all those mother****ers to an island, put a fence around it and let them be on their own.

Criminals do not deserve public money to be spent on them but death is too extreme, no one should decide who lives and dies.

Reply 38

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by bishopdon123

Death penalty for paedophiles.

Some people say that's a mental condition though (bs ik), but idk some crazy religious people could use that punishment as an argument to say that bc homosexuality is a "wrongful" or "unnatural" sexual desire (not my opinion, and I don't equate murderers and gay people in the same category) it should be given the death penalty too...you know, people will come out with anything.

Reply 39

KingdomOfTheLord

Original post by OU Student

Yes but some people REALLY deserve it. When there's irrefutable evidence. But like people say DNA testing may be faulty, and is evidence ever irrefutable? This argument is so convoluted...