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The death penalty should be abolished in the USA
in Politics
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Death penalty is also a slippery slope with a very famous description:
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Dealing with the threat was performed when the individual was prosecuted and isolated from the society. Killing them after that does not remove any threats; it is a simple vengeance, and vengeance performed by a society as a whole is not something that should take place in a civilized world.
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The best problem to solve problems of brutality is to exterminate humanity as a whole. But that would not be the best solution, would it?
If other arguments are not acceptable to you, then, at least, you probably can accept old good "What if a person who was executed is found innocent?" It is a bad argument, but as a last resort, it usually works where other arguments are dismissed.
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If we keep allowing these maniacs into prisons their attitude infects the others and everyone becomes more brutal and uncaring about rules and the well-being of society in general.
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In a report that was published by the National Academy of Sciences, it was “conservatively” estimated that at least 4.1% of those sentenced to death in the USA are innocent (Gross, O'Brien, Hu, & Kennedy, 2014).
Actually, at least 74 cases where wrongful executions have most likely taken place in the USA have been identified [1]. One such example is that of Jesse Tafero who was wrongfully convicted of having murdered two police officers and who was subsequently executed in 1990 [2]. During his execution, the electric chair malfunctioned thrice which caused 1-foot high flames to shoot from Tafero's head and which resulted in the death chamber filling with smoke and two dozen horrified witnesses. A lawyer who was witnessing the execution described it as "burning Tafero alive" and further told that "you could smell burning human flesh" [3].In conclusion, the death penalty does not just punish those that some might argue deserve it but also innocent people (1 innocent person for every 24 guilty people in fact) that most certainly do not deserve it, in an inhumane way that simply disregards human dignity, and thus the death penalty should be abolished in the 31 U.S. states where it has not yet been abolished.
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“Of two methods which are equally effective in preventing murder, the one involving least harm to the murderer is to be preferred. The harm to the murderer is wholly regrettable, like the pain of a surgical operation. It may be equally necessary, but it is not a subject for rejoicing. The vindictive feeling called ‘moral indignation’ is merely a form of cruelty. Suffering to the criminal can never be justified by the notion of vindictive punishment. If education combined with kindness is equally effective, it is to be preferred; still more is it to be preferred if it is more effective.” (Russell 2009, p. 358).
Reference:
Russell, Bertrand (2009). The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell. Routledge.
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood"
The Animals
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Thank you for not explaining why the guilty should not be killed.
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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I have heard that the death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/05/01/considering-the-death-penalty-your-tax-dollars-at-work/
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood"
The Animals
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Let's assume that life without parole is the alternative to the death penalty. Personally, I see lifetime confinement as a crueler punishment, and perhaps just as inhumane, if not more. The subject is in a living tomb, shut off from pleasurable sensory experiences and left to mull over the ghost of their past life for years to come. In contrast, death comes swiftly. But I digress.
Ethics aside, what purpose does lifetime confinement serve? Confinement will more likely worsen the subject's mental state rather than provide constructive rehabilitation, and it may cost more resources to keep up.
I think the better alternative is rehabilitation, as @Erfisflat said, but there haven't been enough data regarding the effectiveness of rehabilitation systems or enough areas testing such systems at the moment. While funding goes to exploring rehabilitation, the U.S. should maintain the death penalty, and abolish it when solid rehabilitation programs are put into motion.
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Jesus flatly rejected the Old Testament principle of taking equal revenge for a wrong done (Matthew 5:38-41, Luke 9:52-56). He also said that we are all sinners and do not have the right to pass judgment on one another (Matthew 7:1-5). In the case of a woman caught in adultery (a capital offense), Jesus said to those who wanted to stone her to death,
https://www.christianbiblereference.org/faq_CapitalPunishment.htmScientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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What if a random person goes ahead and kills someone? What if you go ahead and kill someone? Is your position so strong that you would advocate that the society executes you to avoid this possibility?
All pro-death sentence arguments are easily eliminated by logically continuing them and getting absurd lawmaking prescriptions. Death sentence is just a crime against humanity, and there is no way around it in the context of human rights.
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As one philosopher said, "I do not want to die for France. Let France die for me." Replace France with society, and my position is pretty well stated.
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Lev. 20:
1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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Which was false, Jesus wasn't even around in the days of Moses...
Then, that turned into His laws commanded (someone) to execute 19 types of criminals...
All the while ignoring God's commandment, thou shall not kill, and your rebuttal is that I'm misquoting? Not the King James Version.
https://biblehub.com/kjv/exodus/20.htm
Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer
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