For years I was for it because it seemed that if they weren’t killed they eventually got paroled. I am not concerned about retribution but seeing that it never happens again. In Oregon we now have life without parole, so I see no need for the death penalty. Other than the chance of there being an error the other drawback to the death penalty is the court resources that is taken up by their appeals. I don’t think treating them with some terrible punishment is necessary or humane, life away from the public forever should be sufficient.

Absolutely NO

I voted yes. I have always believed in an eye for an eye. You steal than you lose you hand. You kill someone than you should die. what is so hard for people to get this? It is simple and would probable deter the amount of crime that has been happening in this world. I want a crime free would. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Capital punishment is legalized murder. I don’t believe the government has the right to take away anyone’s life. As far as punishment goes, I think life without parole is a far greater punishment than execution. There is also the possibility of executing an innocent person. Recently, we’ve read about several innocent people released from prison after many years. Some were on death row.

How we treat the least and most broken among us speaks volumes to who we are as a nation. Life without parole answers the call of justice and protects the innocent. There is no deterrence or redemption in revenge.

Absolutely NO … as so very obviously it does not deter the amount of crime in this world … war begets war, killing begets killing … no end in sight … Elizabeth and Maggi already pointed out all the clear arguments, thank you … I am appalled that people bemoan the tax dollars spent on ‘keeping criminals’ yet do not seem to mind the insane amount of their money financing the killings - of soldiers, innocent people, decency, morale, souls - in useless wars instead of benefitting education (surely a better deterrent of crime) and health care … and all those ‘an eye for an eye’ fundamentalists here should very carefully think this through and try to figure it out for real rather then rhetorically … whose eyes, hands, lives? …

Anne B. - Thank You! - “There is no deterrence or redemption in revenge” …

No way. What makes it right to punish someone for taking a life by taking his life? There is no logic in that. Caroline, it has been shown in many studies that the death penalty does not deter crime. An eye for an eye? That’s great, if you can prove the person who’s eye you take to pay for the crime is the right person. No judicial system in the world is 100% infallible. I also have a BIG problem with the folks that are against abortion but pro death penalty. Seems to me, the only difference is the timing.

There’s also the fact that the results of all the efforts of our justice system may be less than fair. This is not a “belief,” or a prejudice in itself; it is a statistical fact. Wiki says: “In 2002, 93.2% of prisoners were male. About 10.4% of all black males in the United States between the ages of 25 and 29 were sentenced and in prison, compared to 2.4% of Hispanic males and 1.3% of white males.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisons_in_the_United_States The Innocence Project says: “”Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. … identifications have proven to be less accurate when witnesses are identifying perpetrators of a different race …” ” http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/Eyewitness-Misidentification…. The U.S. Department of Justice says: “At yearend 2006 there were 3,042 black male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 black males … compared to 1,261 Hispanic male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 Hispanic males and 487 white male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 white males.” http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm Christian Science Monitor says: a “black male in the United States would have about a 1 in 3 chance of going to prison during his lifetime. … for a Hispanic male, it’s 1 in 6; for a white male, 1 in 17.” http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0818/p02s01-usju.html The ACLU says: “Comparing black and white offenders over the past century, the former were often executed for what were considered less-than-capital offenses for whites, such as rape and burglary. (Between 1930 and 1976, 455 men were executed for rape, of whom 405 - 90 percent - were black.) A higher percentage of the blacks who were executed were juveniles; and the rate of execution without having one’s conviction reviewed by any higher court was higher for blacks.” http://www.aclu.org/capital/general/10441pub19971231.html