On January 19th of this year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allowed the
first death sentence to be served in three years, and the first under
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That is almost copied straight from a
news site (because honestly if I hadn’t, there’s no way I’d have been
able to spell Arnie’s name!)

Anyway, I recently caught an ad for a movie on Court TV called The
Exonerated. It’s based on true stories of several people who spent
years on death row for crimes they didn’t commit. The original version
was a play which inspired my interest in the subject of the death
penalty. I specifically remember one guy who spent something like 20
years on death row before finally being cleared.

Now before someone jumps all over me: I’m not saying that the guy who
was just executed in California was innocent. But does anyone think
it’s acceptable that even one innocent person could be executed? I
think it’s about time this country joins the rest of the civilized
world and adopts a more humane approach. For those of you still on the
fence on this issue, I’d check out this movie, because if it’s anything
like the play the personal stories will astound you. I think it airs on
January 27 (but check courttv.com just in case I’m wrong). And if you
have thoughts on this issue, I’d like to hear them.

On January 19th of this year Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allowed the
first death sentence to be served in three years, and the first under
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. That is almost copied straight from a
news site (because honestly if I hadn’t, there’s no way I’d have been
able to spell Arnie’s name!)

Anyway, I recently caught an ad for a movie on Court TV called The
Exonerated. It’s based on true stories of several people who spent
years on death row for crimes they didn’t commit. The original version
was a play which inspired my interest in the subject of the death
penalty. I specifically remember one guy who spent something like 20
years on death row before finally being cleared.

Now before someone jumps all over me: I’m not saying that the guy who
was just executed in California was innocent. But does anyone think
it’s acceptable that even one innocent person could be executed? I
think it’s about time this country joins the rest of the civilized
world and adopts a more humane approach. For those of you still on the
fence on this issue, I’d check out this movie, because if it’s anything
like the play the personal stories will astound you. I think it airs on
January 27 (but check courttv.com just in case I’m wrong). And if you
have thoughts on this issue, I’d like to hear them.
I have to say that I am dissapointed with Arnold. I really like the guy. He was sort of a hero of mine. But he resorted to the same depth that his predicessor, Grey Davis did.

Really, he could have been a very different sort of Governer than any in recent history but he put that guy to death. To me it means that he is just another career politician just like Dubya and the like. :(

what?

This issue is always so difficult. I think it's a bit unfair for us to just write him off as another heartless politician...IMO

Its unfortunate that some people will be killed wrongly, for everyone incorrectly killed their are hundreds more for who death is in my opinion to kind. If you have a person who is so vile that they cannot fit in to society then death is the only answer. For instance lets say someone raped your daughter then subjected her to hours of torture, finally he cut her into small pieces while she was still conscious and enjoyed it. This person does not need understanding, this person will cost taxpayers a fortune to keep if imprisoned for life. Death is by far the best option.

Its unfortunate that some people will be killed wrongly, for everyone incorrectly killed their are hundreds more for who death is in my opinion to kind. If you have a person who is so vile that they cannot fit in to society then death is the only answer. For instance lets say someone raped your daughter then subjected her to hours of torture, finally he cut her into small pieces while she was still conscious and enjoyed it. This person does not need understanding, this person will cost taxpayers a fortune to keep if imprisoned for life. Death is by far the best option.
Major disagreement here. The death penalty does not deter crime, nor is it even economical. The cost a prosecuting an inmate and sending him or her to their death exceeds the cost of detaining them. Now, and I hear all the rightists yelling, why not streamline the process? Why not cut the appeals? Why not just have immediate executions after being sentenced? Well, then what you end up with is more and more innocent people dying.

The death penalty, for the purpose of satisfying somebody's blood lust is imoral.

The death penalty, for reason of saving money is uneconomical.

Statistics show that the majority of countries which have abolished the death penalty tend to have lower crime rates. Those which have retained the death penalty tend to be violent and often undemocratic.

The United States of America shares the same distinction as Iran, China, Burma, North Korea, Cuba and Saudi Arabia as retaining this brutal relic from the middle ages.