Is there a case for a death penalty?

GCU Flexible Demeanour

In 2001, Ireland voted in favour of a Constitutional ban on the death penalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland

Would people feel this ban is correct? Would a death penalty be appropriate if this crime was committed in Ireland?

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/rapes-committed-with-impunity-218162.html

<...>Indian police charged six men who had been arrested in connection with the attack with murder, adding to accusations that they beat and gang raped the woman on a bus in New Delhi on Dec 16.

A police spokesman said the six suspects face the death penalty if convicted. <...>

Me_Grapes

Been a while since we've had an auld death penalty debate on here.....feel like we're overdue.

dollypet

Garda killers. For me its attacking the fabric of society. Kill a garda in the line of duty- not manslaughter but murdering a guard and I think death penalty should be an option.

Hilly Bill

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

RobbieTheRobber

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

In 2001, Ireland voted in favour of a Constitutional ban on the death penalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland

Would people feel this ban is correct? Would a death penalty be appropriate if this crime was committed in Ireland?

A murder ban is correct!

There is no justification for additional murder, especially not state perpetrated murder!

More importantly we should not use exceptional cases to make law.

carpejugulum

no because of miscarriage of justice

Mrmoe

I definitely think it should be brought back. There are certain crimes/people for which no punishment will suffice. I would include multiple murder & sexual assault to be included. It should be used very sparingly for only the very worst of crimes and individuals. Some people can not be rehabilitated, detered nor will a life time in jail be a suitable punishment for some people.

kneemos

Mrmoe wrote: »

I definitely think it should be brought back. There are certain crimes/people for which no punishment will suffice. I would include multiple murder & sexual assault to be included. It should be used very sparingly for only the very worst of crimes and individuals. Some people can not be rehabilitated, detered nor will a life time in jail be a suitable punishment for some people.

I think I'd prefer the death penalty to a lifetime in jail.

Son Of A Vidic

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

Is there a case for a death penalty?

For some of the muppets in the Daíl?..........Yes, absolutely.

Death and Taxes

No.
Various reasons including morally against it, risk of its misuse, the fact that it does not deter others, indeed "might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" springs to mind.
Finally , I think we have had quite enough needless killing on this Island since we declared independence!

keithclancy

Meh ... If they had some sort of way to read peoples minds then maybe.

Problem is that the Justice system makes mistakes and its not easy to correct someone being dead.

Me_Grapes

I believe the right to life should not be not a guaranteed right, it should be a qualified right......the simple caveat being do not deliberetly or intentionally end the life of another. If you do, you forfeit your right to life, and deserve to be sentenced to death.

However, I do not want to live in a country where it is possible to be put to death on account of a miscarrige of justice.

Grayson

Well, the death penality doesn't act as a deterrant. It doesn't rehablitate. It generally costs more.

krudler

Hilly Bill wrote: »

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

Except for the one guy left with one eye, how's the last blind guy gonna take the eye of the last guy with one left?

I love when movie quotes can be applied to real life.

Benny_Cake

On a practical level, the only possible justification I could see for the death penalty would be if for some reason it was impossible to protect society from the guilty party by any other method. In reality, I don't think this arises in today's world so capital punishment should be left in the past.

o1s1n

Hilly Bill wrote: »

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

No it won't. It'll just leave a lot of people with only one eye.

It should really be -

'An eye for an eye will only cause a reduction in depth perception'

kneemos

o1s1n wrote: »

No it won't. It'll just leave a lot of people with only one eye.

It should really be -

'An eye for an eye will only cause a reduction in depth perception'

So a world full of clumsy people then?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Always love the way pro-death peantly people state they want it back and the crimes they want it back for but never why they think it will work or what it will achieve.

faceman

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

In 2001, Ireland voted in favour of a Constitutional ban on the death penalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland

Would people feel this ban is correct? Would a death penalty be appropriate if this crime was committed in Ireland?

You've answered your question there.

There is never justification for the death penalty.

RobbieTheRobber

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Always love the way pro-death peantly people state they want it back and the crimes they want it back for but never why they think it will work or what it will achieve.

Or how to deal with the problems of the state (mistakenly) killing innocent people!

When the state kills a person who is incorrectly found guilty for murder and posthumously found innocent of that crime, who now pays the penalty?

Do we hang the judges, the prosecution, the police?

kneemos

The thing I could never understand about the death penalty is why they make it so hard,electrocution,gassing even leathal injection seems to drawn out and made as difficult as possible,bring your dog to the vet and it's one injection,falls asleep and it's over,why can't they do this for people?I'd prefer the firing squad or beheading to the present barbaric methods.

TheDoc

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Always love the way pro-death peantly people state they want it back and the crimes they want it back for but never why they think it will work or what it will achieve.

Surely its obvious

As a massive deter for serious crimes. For anyone thinking of committing a serious crime, to have to think twice before doing it.

Am I pro death penalty personally? I don't think I fall on either side really, I can see the points from both. I wouldn't really give a **** about a murderer, rapist or paedophile being sentenced to death, I'd read it or hear about it and give a nod of approval.

Although for someone to be sentenced and there for be a mistake made, interesting one.

I'm sure the inevitable would be , if a death penalty was re-introduced, the standard of our justice system would have to improve accordingly.

Solair

We're required to ban it as members of the Council of Europe and the EU anyway.

It's not something that's ever likely to be even debated. Reintroducing it would also be highly unlikely to pass a referendum here.

Bigger issue here is weak sentencing within the existing law!

thomasj

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

In 2001, Ireland voted in favour of a Constitutional ban on the death penalty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland

Would people feel this ban is correct? Would a death penalty be appropriate if this crime was committed in Ireland?

3 things:

1. death penalty could argubly be a "quick way out" for the criminal, why not make them suffer over a long period of time?

2. At what stage are you 100% satisfied that someone commited the crime that warrents the death penalty?

3. The risk that circumstancial evidence (ie not conclusive) may decide the faith of someone and may wrongly convict them

Garda killers. For me its attacking the fabric of society. Kill a garda in the line of duty- not manslaughter but murdering a guard and I think death penalty should be an option.

One of the last men peter pringle who was sentenced the death (by hanging) over the murder of a member of the garda force had his conviction quashed as it was "unsafe and unsatisfactory" if it wasn't for the decision weeks later to change the death penalty decision to life imprisonment he could have been executed for something he did not do.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2012/0121/1224310486659.html

Death and Taxes

dollypet wrote: »

Garda killers. For me its attacking the fabric of society. Kill a garda in the line of duty- not manslaughter but murdering a guard and I think death penalty should be an option.

They usually get promoted, remember Abbeylara!

LordSutch

Would be tempted to vote for the death penalty after hearing about murders like the one on Christmas eve in Sheffield-England. Sixty eight year old pensioner walks from his house towards the local Church to play the organ at midnight Mass, and on his route he gets his head brutally smashed in and dies! Full story here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/i-have-not-stopped-crying-for-him-and-i-know-you-have-not-stopped-either-says-devastated-widow-after-evil-murder-of-church-organist-alan-greaves-on-christmas-eve-8433414.html

Knee-jerk reaction is rage and anger, bring in the death penalty for the murderer I say, providing the evidence is watertight (and preferably with a confession). When I am not in knee-jerk mode then maybe a life (meaning full term life) sentence would be a better option?

Real Life

i dont see any way the death penalty can be justified

Solair

Life slopping out in Mountjoy is probably worse!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

TheDoc wrote: »

Surely its obvious

As a massive deter for serious crimes. For anyone thinking of committing a serious crime, to have to think twice before doing it.

Do they? In states where they have the death penalty, they also have crime. usually on similar levels.

I'm sure the inevitable would be , if a death penalty was re-introduced, the standard of our justice system would have to improve accordingly.

Hasn't in other countries.

So again: how is this supposed to work here, when it hasn't worked in other places?

Gyalist

LordSutch wrote: »

Knee-jerk reaction is rage and anger, bring in the death penalty for the murderer I say, providing the evidence is watertight (and preferably with a confession). When I am not in knee-jerk mode then maybe a life (meaning full term life) sentence would be a better option?

Confession is probably the most unsafe evidence that there is. Even without torturing the suspect it is very easy to get them to admit to a crime

Solair

Despite the emotive response, Ireland's murder rates are actually quite low. They're drastically lower than the United States and in line with Northern Europe.

The US' death penalty certainly doesn't seem to work as a deterrent.

I personally think it just reduces justice to some medieval style eye for an eye vengeance system and makes for a brutal society.

I think Ireland was a way nastier place in the 19th century when the death penalty was in fashion.