waiting for the hangman

hi blue bunny Yes I believe the US still has the death penalty
and I have heard that a lot of times those on death row are
there for a long time. to me this is abuse of human rights. If
that person is indeed guilty of a crime so heinous that he or
she must die, do the death immediately not wait years. Also we should be super sure that we have the guilty party before condemning them to death. I hate it when someone is imprisoned unjustly and has to take forever to get anyone to believe that
they are innocent.

I don't think it's being implemented "properly" at all. In the states that do have it, people go through appeal after appeal after appeal and sit in prison for 20+ years, maybe even die in prison. Other states employ the death penalty far too liberally and carry it out too quickly. And there are statistics showing that people from certain ethnic groups are far more likely to end up on death row than others. And then there's the issue of wrong convictions...

While we do have a death penealty in capitol federal crimes, as far as state law goes, each state sets it's own standards in htis. Some states do not have the death penalty, some use it often and others use it rarely and only with very limited cases. For example, my state does have it, but only for narrowly defined cases. Since 1939, we have only executed 1 person, that was in 2008. Our legislature last year had drafted a bill that would have abolished it in the state altogether, but Governor John Lynch(D), vetoed the bill when it came to his desk and there ws not enough support in the state senate to over ride the veto.
I can only speak to how it is handled in my state really. It seems that death penaltiy cases over all these days are executed (ok...pun sort of intended) with very carefull measure, what with the advancement of DNA evidence, forensics capabilities today, and such. Has an innocent person been executed in recent times? It's likely it has happened. I would say it is probably the extremely rare exception though.
I am not really all for having a person sit on death row for years. Though often that is the result of the very lengthy and thourogh appeals process in place in the various states that have it and in the federal justice system rather than merely waiting in line for your turn.

Personally, I think any and all DNA must be retested with advance technologies used to either confirm or deny culpability.
I am pro-death penalty in cases of definitive guilt, confession should not be the get out of the chair free card.
Without a doubt there have been abuses. DNA testing could eliminate much of that, IMO.

the gap between the final verdict and executing the verdict can be very huge especially in case of capital punishment. the thought of it can certainly be more tormenting than the act itself. here in India some cases are implemented immediately but there are also some cases which are dragged indefinitely. no offense but i don't consider this as an abuse. pronouncing such a verdict itself tells of the gravity of the crime, so the wait may as well be well deserved.
as regards innocent people being executed, there is always a possibility. but here the status of the country matters. for example if someone is executed in China or Iran...you may sense foul play. but if someone is executed in US or India...you can be assured that the lawyers must have made the best efforts to save the convict.

This post contains content of a mature nature. You must be Signed in or Registered to have the option to view this content.

We do not have the death penalty in Australia and I have expressed my thoughts on that in other discussions.

Is it implemented properly where it is in force? Well, I can't answer for everywhere, but I know it isn't in most places and presume it is pretty much the same everywhere.

My opinions: (where it is in place)

# It should be the maximum penalty for certain crimes, where there is NO DOUBT about the person's guilt. That is, there is irrefutable evidence, or the crime being witnessed by reliable witnesses or camera, or caught in the act and confession of the culprit.
# The sentence should be carried out within a short period of time, as humanely as possible. (The person is still a human being, although he has dishonoured himself)
# Any appeals are given immediate priority with a time limit to be heard.

No, here in England there is no death penalty. The last case of the hanging was of a woman. I cant remember if she was falsely accused of a crime or not (think it was stealing) but, over the period of time there was countless misjudgements, especially at the time when technology, as advanced as today, did not exist. And it's no good when they DO find the right killer to just say 'well.. we're sorry' as it brings no relief other to the family. It wont ever bring that innoccent life back again... Problem is the whole line of 'innoccent until proven guilty' tends to be (in my opinion) misused in every justice system - even in our current without the death penalty. We are so keen to get crimes solved tht sometimes the job doesnt seem to be investigated deeply enough - especially with media time limits! No offence to the hard working police force, but it feels like the force are so aware of their reputation being trashed if they take too long that sometimes they take the most likely person to arrest. Im not sure.
Happy Mylotting x

I have known of horrendous crimes in my tme and with enough information that one cannot stomach to eat something either.
We have NO death Penalty here in Sweden.
There are times when I have questioned that in certain cases where it is an open and shut case and family are left to suffer knowing that their child or whoever is dead from a violent abuse and murder and that the murderer is alive. It is often so hard for them to find closure... that is all I really can say. and I know you didn't want me to say it, but I am not in the USA either so I cannot really speak for them there..

Tricky it is. There are so many people now days that it is difficult to have people brought to trial or justice or whatever in an amount of time that is valid anyway. I think the death penalty is being implemented properly. It just takes so long for it to happen it is rediculous. I think it just needs to happen like they used to just move people out to the gallows in the old days and took care of it right then and there. Not anymore. Too many rights given the guilty in my book.