Originally Posted by
Sloppy Joe
The 'life in prison is worse' is a dumb argument that need not ever be made.
The death penalty is shameful because it is inequitable (both economically and racially), expensive for taxpayers, not a crime deterrent, and since 1970-something over 140+ people have been released from death row due to mistakes. etc etc.
"Since 1970" is the key term above. The ability to prevent wrongful convictions through today's technology is MUCH greater than it was 40 years ago. Also, keep in mind that some of the releases you're referring to have been due to technicalities, where the person was still guilty but allowed to go free anyway.
It is not fair to say it's inequitable "both economically and racially" because there is also a huge inequity both economically and racially regarding the number of people committing violent crimes. While you have an edge if you are super rich and can afford superstar attorneys (like OJ), for most people the chance is roughly the same that they will get the death penalty for the same crime. For example, Scott Peterson, who is white (and not poor), got the death penalty in California for killing his Hispanic wife, despite the fact that all evidence against him was circumstantial. I am not seeing a racial bias to where black men are given the death penalty where white men are spared under the same circumstances.
The death penalty does need reform. The number of appeals need to be reduced, with some sort of common-sense review board to where they are not allowed more than once in cases of super-obvious guilt. The appeals should have to take place within a reasonable amount of time. We should not be taking 30 years to execute people. In general, there should be a higher certainty of guilt to qualify for the death penalty than a normal conviction. For example, in the case regarding this guy in my original post, there is zero doubt and he should be executed. In a case like Scott Peterson's, while I believe he did it, he should have gotten life in prison, as there was no direct evidence against him, and there remained a very small chance he was innocent.
Some may say, "If even one innocent man gets executed, the death penalty is unjust", but that's feelgood rhetoric which doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Innocent people die every day due to mistakes on the government's part.
The military occasionally kills innocent people with friendly fire or accidentally attacking the wrong target, but that doesn't mean we should disband the military. High-speed police pursuits sometimes result in the death of innocent bystanders, but that doesn't mean we should allow criminals to speed away without consequence. While these are tragic, you cannot halt something for the greater public good because of the occasional accidental death. The proper thing to do is take steps to prevent it, such as the reform I mentioned above. It is simply not fair that murderers (especially serial killers) get to live out full lives in prison despite obvious guilt, while their victims lay in the ground for those same decades.