Capital Punishment / Execution

I think the American prison system in some states is totally
inhumane Hideous
No I will never agree with capital punishment

OTOH, there are some people whose crimes are so hideous that I wish there were some alternative to keeping them incarcerated in some degree of shelter and security at tax payers expense (around £40k a year) for the rest of their miserable lives. Think, for instance, Ian Brady or Levi Bellfield. No doubt at all as to their guilt.

I would not support hanging, but there must be other ways. Hard labour, maybe?

I agree. Although, if an execution is to take place, the hideous electric chair/injection route seems even more barbaric than a “proper” hanging.
What does one do with serial killers or those whose mind is SO out there that one can never trust them?

Capital punishment should not even enter our heads as a possibility. We are not medieval people, I hope. Life imprisonment is probably the best answer.

I am old enough to remember hangings being announced on the radio news. I used to think that one day we would look back on such barbarism with disbelief, yet I find that there are still people with the primitive mindset that sees it as a reasonable punishment.

I admit many years ago I was one of the "flog em and hang em" brigade but over the years there have been so many miscarriages of justice I have done a complete about-turn.

I do not believe we should waste taxpayers money keeping them incarcerated for life but I do not see an alternative. They appear to have a lot of mod cons in prison.

there needs to be a harsher punishment for murderers,such as Peter Sutcliffe and Ian Huntley.They deserve hanging,but it seems barbaric now,and mistakes have been made in the past.At least Fred West had the right idea,and did it himself.These people never considered their victims,we probably are too soft with them,but there's no easy answer.

No, I could never support the death penalty.

Life in prison is not the 'holiday camp' that some people believe. No civilised society would support the death penalty.

Having a death penalty does not prevent horrendous crimes. Never quite see the point.

Horrendous. Its the mark of a civilised society hiw we treat those who have wronged society.

Many people serving on a jury would be extremely reluctant to find a defendant ‘guilty’ knowing capital punishment was a possibility. As the country is so split on this issue, some murderers could walk free.

I did read somewhere, a long time ago that an execution costs more than keeping someone locked up for life.
The prisoner has access to so many appeals that it isn’t a cost cutting exercise.

In the USA, there are spectators to the execution, including it seems the families of the victims of the perpetrators crimes. How can that help anyone? There is the usual nonsense talk of "closure", something that simply doesn't exist. I don't mean that those of us who experience trauma remain in that initial awful state of shock, anger, disbelief etc. It's possible to somehow make what happened part of you, without it dominating every waking moment. I cant' imagine that watching the execution in any way helps move into a less distressed state of mind.

I could never ever support the death penalty.
Peter Sutcliffe suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He undoubtably was very ill mentally at the time of the murders.
I agree you can judge a society on how we treat our prisoners.
For those who think prison is a cushy number , all I can say is have you visited a prison and seen the conditions?

We must never have the death penalty back, to want it for the likes of Ian Huntly and Peter Sutcliff but not for other murderers would mean 1st, 2nd, degree murders

Who remembers Ruth Ellis, Derek Bentley and others

To take someone's life, no matter what they have done , is barbaric. And there is always the chance that the jury/judge got it wrong.
But I do believe that life should mean life for some particularly evil murderers, not just released in 20 or whatever years.

I agree with @henetha - life should mean life. As for execution - it is illogical to say 'thou shalt not kill' - & then kill a person via capital punishment.

Not a supporter of the death penalty

The most famous hangman, Pierrepoint didn't think it was a deterrent either

“It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree. There have been murders since the beginning of time, and we shall go on looking for deterrents until the end of time. I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over responsibility for revenge to other people.

“It is better that 10 guilty men go free than one innocent man should suffer.”

Once you have executed someone should they subsequently prove to be innocent as has happened then you can apologise all you like but you can’t bring them back their life.

I abhor the death penalty. I was privileged to be allowed inside a category B prison and it changed me. There are no words to describe the feeling of despair in the atmosphere, even in a prison with the most modern facilities. It's not cushy, nor should it be, of course, but the thing that struck me was that the prisoners could never see more than a narrow tranche of sky. I met a murderer who was my son's age, 24, and wondered what his background was.

No, I wouldn't ever want the death penalty back.

What do you think yourself, rosecarmel?

No. Murder is wrong whether its state sanctioned or not.

grandMattie if someone's mind is " so out there they can never be trusted" then surely they should be in a secure psychiatric unit.
I don't agree with capital punishment either but sometimes when I hear of horrific crimes perpetrated against children then momentarily I wish it could be applied.

The British death penalty was abolished in 1965 with good reason as Timothy Evans was hung for a murder he did not commit which later came to light.

I have often watched documentaries on Myra Hindley and Ian Brady as so many British people do have a fascination into these awful crimes. I believe they were evil and those children that they murdered were never spared a thought .
I always had thoughts they should have hung them instead of letting them rot in prison at least now they have gone and
good riddance.

Life imprisonment until they die with as little privileges as possible.

The death penalty does not allow for making mistakes but I think murderers should never be free to enjoy a life their victim forfeited.