# moral question about capital punishment

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 17, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887 "2009-11-17T05:09:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/21 "2009-11-22T05:40:58Z")

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You expected me to read all the way to post 4?? On a poll? Someone’s gonna have to go into exile!

It takes more than a village to make a prison.

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**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/22 "2009-11-22T06:35:25Z")

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I’d make him leader of my army.  
or…would I?

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/23 "2009-11-22T07:30:51Z")

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> [@Nava](#):
>
> Life without parole doing community service if possible

So, state slavery?

I’d punish him in whatever way my village punishes murderers.

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**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/24 "2009-11-23T00:02:43Z")

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I’d have the murderer shot in the back of the head by a firing squad and buried in an unmarked grave: simple, without fanfare.

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**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/25 "2009-11-23T03:41:50Z")

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One of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” That goes for the state/village/whatever as well as an individual. And two wrongs do not make a right. So, life without parole, and take care of him by showing him the mercy he did not show his victim.

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**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/26 "2009-11-23T14:19:53Z")

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> [@Juliana](#):
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> One of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” That goes for the state/village/whatever as well as an individual. And two wrongs do not make a right. So, life without parole, and take care of him by showing him the mercy he did not show his victim.

No really, it isn’t. It’s “Thou Shalt Not Murder”. The Bible clearly specifies the death penalty for violating some of the Ten Commandments.

(No, i’m not necessarily saying the bible/ten commandments should be used as justification for capital punishment in a secular society.)

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/27 "2009-11-23T15:28:40Z")

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> [@Ninas\_grandpa](#):
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> You also left out a fixed prison term \< life

Which (generally with the chance of early release on parole) is the most common option in western democratic countries.

In addition, since this is the sentencing part of a criminal trial, the appropriate range of sentences needs to have been specified in the appropriate criminal code. Ex-post-facto criminal penalties are unconstitutional in the US, and unlawful in most other countries. So what does the criminal code say?

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**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moral-question-about-capital-punishment/517887/28 "2009-11-23T15:34:29Z")

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I prefer to execute in a quick, painless way, if it’s possible, I know we don’t know for sure what hurts when someone dies, but I’d do my best.

And yes, I’d be willing to do the execution myself, as should anyone who chooses capital punishment.

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