Thoughts on the death penalty?

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by TheGame

I would disagree completly. You can't honestly say that you'd chose to die over sitting in a cell for the rest of yor life getting free (and instant) medical care, free food, and still being able to socialize. (You'd even get to see your wife/kids again, isn't that enough worth living for?) Now if the prisons were actually tougher by nature, and were a form of torture in a way... then I could see how someone would chose to die. But these days you still have a life, even behind bars.

I think your view of prison is a bit rose colored. I'd rather not have to join a racial gang to avoid being sexually abused and/or traded around by other inmates, worrying about whether or not I'm going to get beat up, raped or stabbed on any given day. I'd rather not go though the mental torment of watching my family's utter and complete shame in me and then watch as they grow more distant and finally (hopefully) disappear.

I guess in the end, the death penalty has proven itself to have zero effect as a deterrent (violent crime and murder rates have risen over time and use of the death penalty), so what is the point of the action? Once again, you can have someone put away for life with the same effect (he/she never commits the crime again). Anything else is a grotesque vengeance fantasy, IMO, and one where mistakes can and will be made.