# Death penalty opponents and supporters: do you think Trump deserves to be executed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 10, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209 "2021-01-10T22:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/21 "2021-01-11T00:23:27Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > For many – including Trump, I believe – the penalty of sitting alone in your cell for 23 hours a day with only your thoughts is a far greater punishment than the sweet oblivion of death. This, and I said it years ago. I would shed no tears though, were he to die at his own hand, or sudden ricin poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/22 "2021-01-11T00:37:49Z")
Being fully opposed to the death penalty, the question is moot. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/23 "2021-01-11T00:39:07Z")
I’d like to hear from those who are generally opposed but think he deserves to be executed. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/24 "2021-01-11T00:40:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I would be extremely reluctant, in general, to impose the death penalty on someone who didn’t directly pull a trigger or otherwise physically cause a death himself. Mere incitement is generally too weak IMHO. I’m against the death penalty. As for incitement, it is a subjective charge. What if someone were to play around with the phrase off the police? Want them thrown in prison? Maybe somebody might say that we should mostly punish punching down incitement, not punching up. I say — one legal standard is the ideal, and it is too hard to distinguish incitement from strong speech. There’s a point where incitement might cross over into an actual conspiracy to kill an individual, but I don’t think Trump got there. I think that DJT threatening election officials, on tape, is a more clear cut violation of law. Georgia should seek his extradition. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/25 "2021-01-11T00:46:00Z")
I’m opposed to the death penalty period, so I don’t believe Trump should receive the death penalty. I think he should be locked up in a standard State Pen, treated in the same manner as the rest of the inmates, with the exception that at lights out his cell is to be opened every 15 minutes so he can be punched in the face. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/26 "2021-01-11T00:53:44Z")
Generally against, and would not execute Trump. Since he seems such a fan of coal, make him mine it – with a plastic spork. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/27 "2021-01-11T00:55:32Z")
I generally oppose the death penalty, but there are a few exceptions. This isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/28 "2021-01-11T00:56:50Z")
I opposed it for Charles Manson, so I pretty much have to oppose it for this lesser monster. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/29 "2021-01-11T00:58:24Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > this lesser monster. …so far. (But really, aren’t they about equal at this point?) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/30 "2021-01-11T01:00:50Z")
I do want to see him convicted of treason, and treason can carry a death penalty. But I don’t support the death penalty, not even for treason. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/31 "2021-01-11T01:01:08Z")
No. But OTOH if Interpol takes him to Iran and the inevitable occurs, I wont stay up nites crying about it either. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/32 "2021-01-11T01:01:09Z")
Well, if he goes full-bore Ceausescu or Putin…maybe. Fortunately, I think American fascism has just hit, and is receding from, a (local) high water mark. This specific tide has turned. Future tides may flow again… ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/33 "2021-01-11T14:12:16Z")
I’m surprised as well. When I created this poll, I thought that there’d be zero people choosing option 2. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/34 "2021-01-11T14:18:42Z")
Shouldn’t be too surprising. My WAG would be that most people who support the death penalty support it for crimes that involve directly causing the death of someone else - i.e., first-degree murder. The deaths that Trump has caused are indirect - such as inciting his supporters at the Capitol, or his botched handling of the pandemic which has steeply increased American deaths. If we were to execute someone for _ **that** _, then suddenly we’d have to execute a whole lot more people in America than before; a real can of worms. Anti-vaxxers could be put to death for indirectly causing the deaths of un-vaccinated children. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/35 "2021-01-11T14:31:31Z")
I don’t think that’s the option they’re asking about. Discourse changes the order, depending on the voting. I think they’re wondering about people opposed to the DP but think it makes sense in this case. I’m not one of those people, but how’s this for why: One could be opposed to the DP in general, and especially the awful way it’s done in the US – terrible defenses for poor people, some racist methods, etc. Plus, a murderer, even a serial murderer, only kills some smallish number of people. However, trying to overturn the American democracy and inciting an attempted coup is a much larger crime than any particular set of murders. Plus, if the US were to become the autocratic state that Trump was pushing for, it could lead to much more death and destruction. Also, it’s perfectly clear what happened, whereas many capital crimes are done in the dark and you can never be definitely sure about guilt. In this case, there is tons of video evidence. Anyway, that’s not my position, but it doesn’t seem completely unreasonable to me. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/36 "2021-01-11T14:37:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > My WAG would be that most people who support the death penalty support it for crimes that involve directly causing the death of someone else - i.e., first-degree murder. Let me go on the record as saying Trump’s crimes are just as bad and deserve equal punishment. My objection is to the death penalty, not that Trump’s crimes aren’t equivalent to those of criminals who have received the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/37 "2021-01-11T20:15:59Z")
Personally, I’d like to see him be rendered utterly irrelevant. Fined enough to not be “rich”, no access to Twitter or other social media platforms, and basically being a pariah to any actual reputable network or cable channel. He’d be stuck on whatever garbage right wing sites/networks are willing to have him, but nobody else would give him any air time or mention, except maybe when he croaks. That’s far worse than being dead for him I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/38 "2021-01-11T20:20:12Z")
I oppose the death penalty, and I really can’t think of any exceptions. So no. But even if I could think of exceptions, no. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/39 "2021-01-12T18:05:40Z")
No, I am totally opposed. I think he should spend the rest of his life in a padded cell. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209/40 "2021-01-12T19:46:11Z")
Nope, I’m sorry but no. He needs to live to know he failed. > [@RitterSport](#): > > However, trying to overturn the American democracy and inciting an attempted coup is a much larger crime than any particular set of murders. Plus, if the US were to become the autocratic state that Trump was pushing for, it could lead to much more death and destruction. However, AFAIK none of what he is known to have done in pursuit of this subversion has been _ **previously** _ defined _ **explicitly** _ by law as a capital crime and I am not going to apply it ex post facto – mind you, corrections welcomed, if based on actual cites of law and not on “but that’s how it should be”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-penalty-opponents-and-supporters-do-you-think-trump-deserves-to-be-executed/930209.md?page=3)