Death Penaly for Accused Soldiers?

IMHO it appears that our Justice system is a thinly veiled punishment system, not a rehab system. So why not be honest about it ?

You are correct. However I don't think it should be this way. The desire for punishment for its own sake (barring deterrence) is part of a primitive thought system in which people cry for blood of those they consider evil.

There is nothing practical at all in punishment for its own sake.
 
IHateGovernment said:
Not me I would prefer is some of these scum stopped wasting our oxygen. I just don't want anyone who isn't a scumbag to be killed.
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Me neither. but considering humans and their failings, we can seldom be totally assured of someones guilt. So I can understand you being against the death penalty.
Myself, I accept those few instances of where we are wrong and try to improve the process as we go forward. But NOTHING when dealing with humans is 100% , well except death at some point....some seem to avoid taxes ;)
 
IHateGovernment said:
IMHO it appears that our Justice system is a thinly veiled punishment system, not a rehab system. So why not be honest about it ?

You are correct. However I don't think it should be this way. The desire for punishment for its own sake (barring deterrence) is part of a primitive thought system in which people cry for blood of those they consider evil.

There is nothing practical at all in punishment for its own sake.
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Hence the reason that I stated that Death isn't punishment enough. The deterrence level is limited, especially under the current system.
 
IHateGovernment said:
IMHO it appears that our Justice system is a thinly veiled punishment system, not a rehab system. So why not be honest about it ?

You are correct. However I don't think it should be this way. The desire for punishment for its own sake (barring deterrence) is part of a primitive thought system in which people cry for blood of those they consider evil.

There is nothing practical at all in punishment for its own sake.
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Agreed, but we humans are still pretty barbaric, Life sentences are a way of pretending we are more civilized than we actually are.
 
I see life sentences as just ensuring these people can't harm anyone else. Nothing barbaric about that. The right to life include the right to protect that life.
 
IHateGovernment said:
I see life sentences as just ensuring these people can't harm anyone else. Nothing barbaric about that. The right to life include the right to protect that life.
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Ahh but the emotions that flow when the sentenance is read. life in prison instead of death, the victims familys almost always feel cheated...
We like our vengance, why do you think we so easially led into invading Iraq after 911 ? Vengence, nuke em all, etc...
 
I agree. What I am saying is that desiring that the guilty get sentenced to life in prison isn't necessarily an emotional response whereas the desire to see them executed almost always is.

For most of my life I felt this way. I wanted to see Bin Laden strung up and eviscerated in a public square. However I realize such feelings are just feelings of anger and not grounded in logic, pragmatism or rational principle.
 
sorry Damo no spraken ze deutch :)
Revenge and retribution is a very common human emotion that we keep working to overcome, but we have not done so well at supressing it.
For instance in many/most divorces the wronged party wants to make the other party suffer do they not ?
this is also a factor in the rise of the confrontational talk show pundits.
 
uscitizen said:
sorry Damo no spraken ze deutch :)
Revenge and retribution is a very common human emotion that we keep working to overcome, but we have not done so well at supressing it.
For instance in many/most divorces the wronged party wants to make the other party suffer do they not ?
this is also a factor in the rise of the confrontational talk show pundits.
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I think you're right: the point of capital punishment is revenge. It's supposed to make the victims' families feel better. That's actually not an invalid reason for imposing it, I just insist that we call it what it is.

To me, the problem with the death penalty is that it can't be undone. Since the justice system is not perfect, and never can be, I can't support it.
 
OrnotBitwise said:
I think you're right: the point of capital punishment is revenge. It's supposed to make the victims' families feel better. That's actually not an invalid reason for imposing it, I just insist that we call it what it is.

To me, the problem with the death penalty is that it can't be undone. Since the justice system is not perfect, and never can be, I can't support it.
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And for me, add on top of that this reason:

The Death Penalty is not enough of a deterrent. This form of punishment does not serve the purposes of prisons, only that of vengeance.
 
OrnotBitwise said:
I think you're right: the point of capital punishment is revenge. It's supposed to make the victims' families feel better. That's actually not an invalid reason for imposing it, I just insist that we call it what it is.

To me, the problem with the death penalty is that it can't be undone. Since the justice system is not perfect, and never can be, I can't support it.
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Neither can a wrongly imposed life sentence be undone, even if one is released 10 yrs later when new evidence emerges....
 
uscitizen said:
Neither can a wrongly imposed life sentence be undone, even if one is released 10 yrs later when new evidence emerges....
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However they can be released. You cannot be released from death. At least not in the same lifetime you cannot. ;)
 
Damocles said:
Read above. I suggested SuperMax facilities for a lifetime with an option of suicide available. Some people should never again see freedom in this life.
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Oh I pretty much agree, but suicide is illegal and strongly so in this country. and they way our prison population is growing we will one day not be able to afford to keep them going.

If Brain wipes were available would you support that ?
 
uscitizen said:
Oh I pretty much agree, but suicide is illegal and strongly so in this country. and they way our prison population is growing we will one day not be able to afford to keep them going.

If Brain wipes were available would you support that ?
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Hmmm... I don't know. However we can empty our prisons by declaring the "war on drugs" anathema.
 
Damocles said:
Hmmm... I don't know. However we can empty our prisons by declaring the "war on drugs" anathema.
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Not quickly, it took years to program the people for the war on drugs and it will take years to deprogram them, I don't expect that to happen in less than 20 yrs.
 
uscitizen said:
Not quickly, it took years to program the people for the war on drugs and it will take years to deprogram them, I don't expect that to happen in less than 20 yrs.
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Decriminalizing drugs would never take 20 years if you simply did it. Facing the limitation of other people doesn't concern me when thinking logically. If we don't want as many of these people in prison we reevaluate what sent them there and change it so that we aren't putting so many people in prison for self-destructive behavior... They too have a "right to the pursuit of happiness" even to their own detriment.
 
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