Flash In The Pan
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pepi1967 said:When has death ever been a deterant to anyone?
It would certainly deter one from committing a second murder

pepi1967 said:When has death ever been a deterant to anyone?

It would certainly deter one from committing a second murder![]()

I'd say human life is the most precious thing any of us have so could not disagree more.
What is the lowest ratio you would go to? 50/1 300/1 1000/1?
In the UK I believe it has ... murder used to be headline news for days, today it often doesn't get a mention above the activities of some 'celebrity'.
IMO there have been too many innocent people executed in the past (1 would be 1 too many but there have been loads)
I've been asking for this. How many have there been? How many is "loads"?
I've been asking for this. How many have there been? How many is "loads"?
In the U.K., reviews prompted by the Criminal Cases Review Commission have resulted in one pardon and three exonerations for people executed between 1950 and 1953 (when the execution rate in England and Wales averaged 17 per year)
1) I believe no-one has the right to take another person's life (other than to protect another life \ lives).
Rapscallion said:My opinion -
using capital punishment as a method of retribution by the state is barbaric.
using capital punishment as a method of deterrent is unproven.
There has been quite a significant decrease in the last decade, 2.1 per 100,000 in 2002 to 1.23 per 100,000 in 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate_to_1999
currently, the 14 countries with the worst murder rate are all in Central / South AMerica
because I don't think wikipedia is the greatest source, it's written by the public.From Wiki though why you couldn't just have google this for yourself I don't know..
That works out at six percent of executions in the UK between 1950 and 53 being wrongful.
On the same page - In the US 'more than' fifteen inmates of death row have been subsequently aquitted (before execution) after new evidence was found. That's fifteen plus people who had been found guilty and could have been killed,
Info from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrongful_execution
/edit Rapscallion got there ahead of me.
but where would you wish to compare to then. I *think* thats the only western country that still actually executes. All the others that still have death penalty of statute have a moriatum on it IIRC. Of course it could be the figures don't match your assumptions
Of course if you wanted comparible gun ownership then Switzerland and the US would be about equal by that measure.
gramps said:Sorry but I cannot accept stats from wikipedia ... it is taken as 'the authority' but is clearly not so and is so easy to manipulate ... not saying the stats are wrong on this issue but I would need a significantly better authority.
Sorry but I cannot accept stats from wikipedia ... it is taken as 'the authority' but is clearly not so and is so easy to manipulate ... not saying the stats are wrong on this issue but I would need a significantly better authority.
Wikipedia has a pretty decent referencing system. Look at the reference behind the statistics to decide for yourself if you feel they're reliable![]()
it got a pretty good reference system for most articles. TBH it sounds more s though you don't like the figures then anything else?
I don't think it is necessary to compare with anywhere else, just consider the UK ...
no I agree with gramps, so often people think wikipedia is the oracle of everything and if it is found there it must be true. Not saying everything on there is false, but there are enough inaccuracies that I avoid it for anything concrete
I don't get this. If you wish to see if the death penalty is a deterrent surely you have to compare with somewhere that has it?
That would only be true if the 'samples' were at least similar.
The death penalty won't come back,
The prisons being more comfortable (in relative terms) I can understand. If you keep a prisoner well fed, occupied and less inclined to cause trouble then you'll have fewer incidents to deal with. If you treat them like dirt and in confinement all day when they inevitably riot and if they capture you they will do things to you that will make you wish you'd never been born. It's all well and good wanting them treated like animals when you don't have to deal with them.
gramps said:True, the politicians wouldn't have the courage.
You don't have to treat them like animals but neither do you have to give them almost celebrity status ... isn't someone planning to make a film about the murderer who changed his name to Bronson or something?
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without being funny, of the countries that still inact the death penalty I can't think of one more similar. Atleast by most objective measures
But just because it might be the only available candidate doesn't make it an appropriate comparison.
The problem with executing people is that if we find out that they were innocent after all, it's too late.
But how often does this happen now? Not 60 years ago. Now.
How many people in the last 20 years convicted of murder were later found to be innocent?
Where can we get reliable data for that to help with this discussion. Because if those numbers were revealed to be 6% as quoted above then I would change my mind completely .... and that's not something that happens often!
What a crazy crazy figure!!! 10% of people on death row are later proved innocent?
I the 10 years up to 2010, 30 killers were released from prison only to murder again.
Telegraph Report
Some 'politically notorious' killers may well never be released from prison but a whole lot more will get out in super-quick time and of those there will be some who murder again.
I don't know, but for a start there's Barry George, convicted on false forensic evidence.
A bit more than 20 years ago, there was the Polish guy with an unpronouncible name, convicted of the rape and murder of a child, he was convicted on false medical evidence and died very soon after winning his appeal against conviction, after 18 years in prison. The real killer was recently caught and convicted.
And again, a bit more than 20 years ago, there was Winston something or other, sentenced to life for murdering PC Keith Blakelock, he turned out to be innocent too. And these are just the high profile ones that I happen to remember...
they are only let out when it is certain they're safe to be released not because they need the space for someone else.
But if they were certain they were safe to be released, how come 30 of them killed again?
True, the politicians wouldn't have the courage.
You don't have to treat them like animals but neither do you have to give them almost celebrity status ... isn't someone planning to make a film about the murderer who changed his name to Bronson or something?
Then there is the drug problem in prison, not to mention intimidation of witnesses by mobile phone etc.
If prison is going to work it has to both toughen up AND change.