# Strangle him, Chop him up, put in acid! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 16, 2000, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056 "2000-03-16T22:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sweet\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/41 "2000-04-21T05:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Smartass: > **For me, it boils down to this: > If you kill someone else, unprovoked, then you have relinquished whatever rights you may have had to life and safety. In other words, you “deserve” to die on the spot. You cannot refuse to honor someone else’s right and still have reasonable expectation of that right for yourself.** That is exactly how I feel about it. No one is forced to murder. It is a choice, and with options come consequences. What would you say about someone who knew (without having had the experience) that putting their hand on a hot stove would burn them, and yet did it purposefully and with clarity of mind? Being burnt is the logical and inevitable consequence of the action. If the logical consequence of 1st-degree murder was execution, I would have no problem with that. ---
**Author:** ![Threll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Threll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threll)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/42 "2000-04-20T18:19:00Z")
I say lock him up and let greif drive him mad. ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/43 "2000-04-20T20:01:00Z")
cut him up and serve him to the parents. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/44 "2000-04-21T02:31:00Z")
All you death-penalty proponents all seem to have one faulty belief: “It can’t happen to me. I’ll never be executed. It’ll always be someone else, but never me.” I hope some pro-death penalty mook gets strapped into the electric chair for some crime he did NOT commit, begging for his life, screaming his innocence all the way. And then I hope the executioner leans down and whispers, “We know you are innocent. But if we don’t execute you, we may have to let go all the others as well. If we don’t kill you, people just might lose faith in the death penalty. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?” And then that switch is thrown and the guy dies for what he believes in. Why, he should feel _honored._ Wouldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/45 "2000-04-21T05:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by jab1: > \*\*All you death-penalty proponents all seem to have one faulty belief: “It can’t happen to me. I’ll never be executed. It’ll always be someone else, but never me.” > > I hope some pro-death penalty mook gets strapped into the electric chair for some crime he did NOT commit, begging for his life, screaming his innocence all the way. And then I hope the executioner leans down and whispers, “We know you are innocent. But if we don’t execute you, we may have to let go all the others as well. If we don’t kill you, people just might lose faith in the death penalty. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?” > > And then that switch is thrown and the guy dies for what he believes in. Why, he should feel _honored._ > > Wouldn’t you?\*\* Geez, there are some things that even I wouldn’t wish for to make a point. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/46 "2000-04-21T09:51:00Z")
Ohhhh Jab…man, that plot could’ve been in a _Chick Tract_! ::shudder:: -David ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/47 "2000-04-21T16:36:00Z")
Why is it that death penalty opponents base their argument against it as always being “they could be innocent”? Well, guess what? **They could also be guilty.** Not only **could** they be guilty, but they are **proven** to be guilty in a court of law. Now, I am aware that innocent people are wrongly convicted of crimes and imprisoned for it. I am also aware that innocent people have been executed for being wrongly convicted. But was is the alternative? Do away with imprisonment simply because a minute percent are innocent? Of course not. The penal system is not perfect. It has its flaws. But it’s all we’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/48 "2000-04-21T16:43:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by microshroom: > But was is the alternative? Do away with imprisonment simply because a minute percent are innocent? Of course not. > > The penal system is not perfect. It has its flaws. But it’s all we’ve got. > \*\* I’ve never seen a death penalty opponent argue that we need to do away with prison sentences. Imprisonment, for lack of a better word, is good. Imprisonment is right. Imprisonment works. However, don’t you dare try to draw a parallel between locking someone up and ending their life. Even for death penalty advocates there is a clear difference (i.e. one gets you life in prison, one gets you the chair/needle/gas.) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/49 "2000-04-21T16:56:00Z")
Well, I see my mentioning above that Pakistan’s constitution outlaws the punishment originally ordered and that nome of the “revenge is the way to go” folks seems to give a hoot about the law. Let’s try this again: a) A neighbour’s daughter has been kidnapped. b) The child’s body has been found in your van and there’s evidence of extreme abuse in addition to the murder. c) You left the van’s rear door unlocked. d) It’s your van and thus we all decide you’re guilty as sin. e) The law in your state does not provide for the death penalty. f) What’s the punishment to be? p.s. I forgot to mention: You’re actually innocent and the only evidence against you is you confessed. ---
**Author:** ![Occam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Occam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Occam)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/50 "2000-04-21T21:31:00Z")
I say surgically remove his arms and legs. That way, he can endure the rest of his life in torture and misery without the benefit of suicide. * * * “Clatu, Verrata…nector?..neck-tie?” ---
**Author:** ![Ophelia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@Ophelia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ophelia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056/51 "2000-04-24T15:01:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by elucidator: > **"Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay" And until he saith otherwise, keep your noose out of His business.** ## Alrighty, do I have your permission to jot this down in my “quotes” collection? Please oh please? 😃 “I can never give a ‘yes’ of a ‘no.’ I don’t believe everything in life can be settled by a monosyllable” \*Betty Smith [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangle-him-chop-him-up-put-in-acid/18056.md?page=2)