Wednesday, August 12, 2009
capital punishment as a deterrent?
A Prior post was made with regard to capital punishment as an effective deterrent to murder. The argument was that that this practice has been in effect for a great length of time, meaning it must be working, at least to some degree. I feel that capital punishment is in no way a deterrent to murder. Murder is primarily made in the heat of passion, meaning the people committing murder are in no way thinking in a clear state of mind or thinking of the consequences at the time the act is committed. More importantly, I have sat down and spoke with Ray Krone, the 100th man to be exonerated from death row. He told of the story of how he was convicted of 1st degree murder, based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Krone spent ten years in prison, the last two on death row. After these ten years had passed, DNA evidence surfaced and ultimately cleared Krone from the murder as well as a confession from a known sex offender. I could not even begin to imagine the feelings one may have while sitting on death row for a crime you know you did not commit. Krone was the 100th man to be exonerated, leaving one to wonder how many more innocent people were not as fortunate as he.
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You alluded to the fact that death sentences are usually applied in cases of 1st degree murder. 1st degree murder implies planning or preparation on the part of the assailant.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I think the case of Ray Krone is the exception to the rule rather than convention. The American public is well aware of the sanctity of life- and generally punish accused criminals with death only in extreme cases.
I did not allude to that fact.. Death sentences are ONLY applied to 1st degree murder cases involving certain aggrevating circumstances, therefore i did not feel the need to express that gratuitous point.
ReplyDeleteThere have been cases where someone has been put to death for trafficking drugs or treason. Yes, most cases do allude to 1st degree murder, but to me it is circumstantial. History has displayed the U.S. using capital punishment when they feel it meets their shadowed doctrine. There is not set standard for what extremities will result to death. That is the problem I see. How can one weigh their actions effectively in regards to punishments if they are unaware of what can happen?
ReplyDeleteThough I think in the majority of situations capital punishment doesn’t deter murder, it doesn’t seem so ridiculous to think that it doesn’t have any effects. I’m sure there are people who have had impulses to harm or even murder someone and thought of the consequences, one being possible capital punishment, and stopped. With that said, those are probably a small minority, for the simple fact that if you’re going to murder someone, in most cases it’s not a thought out so in the grander scheme of tings I guess it really isn’t an efficient deterrent.
ReplyDeleteThis is always a valid point against the death penalty. What if you kill some one is innocent? I have always been torn with whether or not I agree with the death penalty, but I know I wouldn't kill somebody else unless it was under the line of duty, or because of self-defense. I probably wouldn't do this on a few different levels, because it is immoral, stupid, and also because I might die if I did commit this crime. I'm just saying, I wouldn't commit murder mainly because I don't want to get stuck with my last needle. I'm not sure but I probably tend to like the idea of capital punishment.
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