I’ve lately been reading the numerous threads dealing with the death penalty. I wont hijack one of those threads, but I am interested in why the death penalty is treated with more scrutiny than, say a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.
Personally, (and not to sound too much like William Wallace) I feel that my freedom is much more important to me than my life, if it were to be spent in prison. I would rather be sentenced to death and get it over with than sit in prison for the rest of my life. Prison is not a fun place to be.
So, what will it be, life in prison without possibility of parole or death? And how does your feelings about that influence your feelings about the scrutiny the death penalty is getting.
This is like asking “Which organ would you like me to stab you in, the testicle or the eye?”
Gee dude, my plan all along has been just to keep out of trouble. But say my stockbroker runs away with all my $$$ and I decide to see what my .308 can do to the human skull, I thiiiiink, I would probably prefer life in prison over the death penalty. But I say that as a free man…now if I were quagmiring in prison for a bit I might change my mind. I do indeed value my freedom (I’m a good Scot just like Wallace) so I might get seriously depressed. Hard choice.
I would rather face death than life in prison, but that’s because I know where I’m going when I die. (I’m not trying to start a religious debate, just stating what I believe.)
Being confined for the rest of my life and not having control over what I’m allowed to do would drive me insane.
Of course, most people who are given the death penalty spend most of their lives in prison anyway, 'cause our system is so slow.
I’d prefer to stay out of prision, but if they do start rounding up undesirables of whatever stripe, and I’m on the list, I prefer not to go quietly. I’d rather die than spend my life in prision.
This is an easy one. “Give me freedom, or give me death!!” I’d fight to the death to preserve my freedom. I just wouldn’t want to sit through 12 years of re-trials and appeals first. Just get it over and done with.
If I were sitting at home one evening and the police broke down my door and someone I had never seen before pointed at me and said “That’s him!” and went on to accuse me of a murder I did not commit, then I would rather be sentenced to death than life without parole for 2 reasons.
Since I did not do it, my innocence is more likely to be shown during the more stringent appeals process that death row inmates get subjected to.
I would rather die that spend the rest of my life behind bars.
There are some problems with the way everyone is phrasing the question. Given the choice of life in prison or death? I would choose death. Given the choice between being given a death sentance or a life in prison sentance I would choose the life in prison sentance. The problem with the DP is that they have drasticly reduced the appeals process and sped up the pace of executions. If you are falsely accused you stand much more chance of surviving and being freed if you are simply given life in prison. Look at Geronimo Pratt in CA, if he had been given the DP he would be dead by now. As it is he is free. Also the idea that death row inmates get more a more closely looked at appeals process is false.
“Also the idea that death row inmates get more a more closely looked at appeals process is false.”
This contradicts information I have found at the Death Penalty Information Center as well as common sense. Death Penalty (DP) opponents often point out the greater costs of DP cases as opposed to life sentences. Where does this money go? Much of it goes to the lawyers, both prosecution and defense attorneys. Check out http://www.essential.org/dpic/dpic.r08.html#sxn3 where I found this quote:
"The irreversibility of the death sentence requires courts to follow heightened due process in the preparation and course of the trial. "
“In a report from the Judicial Conference of the United States on the costs of the federal death penalty, it was reported that the defense costs were about 4 times higher in cases where death was sought than in comparable cases where death was not sought. Moreover, the prosecution costs in death cases were 67% higher than the defense costs, without even including the investigative costs provided by law enforcement agencies.”
It seems to me that although the system of justice in this country is supposed to be equitable, in reality the more money you spend on your case the better representation you get. Just ask O.J. Simpson his opinion. So given this information I would prefer the more expensive trial to prove my innocence.
As far as your point about a conviction being overturned if you get a life sentence, I concede that being released is not possible if you are dead. But I have less faith that my case would get the same attention it would if I was on death row. Does anybody know statistics with regard to conviction overturn rate for life sentences compared to death sentences? I would guess the DP overturn rate is higher, but if I am wrong I might reconsider my position.
Although this is a highly unscientific poll, it appears most dopers would indeed rather be put to death, than to suffer a life sentence in prison. This being the case, why is so much more scrutiny placed on death penalty cases than life without parole cases. I doubt that Mr. Graham from Texas, or Mumia Abu Jamal would be nearly as well known, or as hotly debated, if they were sentenced to life without possibility of parole.
Also, if you would rather spend your life in prison because you would always have the opportunity to go free, whereas a death sentence will, usually, actually be carried out some day; is there a time limit that you would wait? If you were subject to the death penalty, once all your appeals are exhausted, you die. However, with a life sentence, you can exhaust your appeals, and then sit around prison for years until your heart gives out or you get the shank in your eye. I’d rather get it over with already.
Hamlet said,
“Although this is a highly unscientific poll, it appears most dopers would indeed rather be put to death, than to suffer a life sentence in prison.”
Uhhh Hamlet, how many responses does this thread have so far? “Most dopers”??? is a bit hasty. Perhaps “a handful” would be the more appropriate phrase.
The reason so much more attention is given to the death penalty is that it’s death!!! Fin. You’re done. Sayonara. With life in prison there is the possibility of parole and/or the ability to use those decades to prove one’s innocence.
While some people in this thread are doing their best William Wallace imitations, most of the world isn’t as idealistic and, methinks, would gladly take life in prison as opposed to death.
I worked in a maximum security prison for four years. There is absolutely no doubt that I would run to the death chamber rather than spend life in prison.
The horror of that life and the eventual breakdown of a person living a life sentence cannot be described. The terrible things you hear or joke about (e.g., rape, fighting, abuses by correctional officers, etc) are regular occurrences.
No way could I do life in prison. The death sentence is clearly my choice.
Everyone’s missing the most important point… deservance. If I don’t deserve the death penalty, and I’m given it, I’d dislike being put to death. However, if I go temporarily insane and slaughter three hundred and seventeen people, and then regained my sanity, I quite literally would want to be executed. Heck, I’d probably feel so horrible, I’d probably kill myself.
Of course, if a person were completely sociopathic, they wouldn’t consider any of their actions to be wrong, so they wouldn’t think ANY punishment should be applied to them, and… oh… I think I just realized why you can’t apply specifics to a subject like this.
Okay, okay… in general, assuming that I’m guilty and either punishment could be applied, AND taken from a social (as opposed to an individual) viewpoint, I believe execution would be completely appropriate.