76.5% of South Africans want a referendum on the dealth penalty

[bwana]

Hmmm well if there is going to be resistance to the death penalty being re-introduced, then perhaps some alternatives should be added to the list of referrendum options, I suggest:

1. Yes, Reintroduce the death penalty; AND/OR
2. Cryogenically stack & store criminals instead of wasting space in prisons; AND/OR
3. Allow Medical Students to use prisoners for [painful] medical experiments; OR
4. None of the above.

Even I would have to say that would be a cruel and unusual punishment smacking of the likes of Mengele, something I would never wish upon anyone.

Cryogenically stacking and storing them would only cause a problem for later generations assuming they could ever be revived. If not then what would be the difference between simply executing them in the first place?

 

[Alan]

Even I would have to say that would be a cruel and unusual punishment smacking of the likes of Mengele, something I would never wish upon anyone.
Cryogenically stacking and storing them would only cause a problem for later generations assuming they could ever be revived. If not then what would be the difference between simply executing them in the first place?

Getting into seriously dodgy territory there.

 

[bwana]

Keep the cadavers fresh for future generations of medical students & anthropologists...

If the opponents of the death penalty are to be believed there will never be a shortage of fresh cadavers.

 

[love56k]

i wonder what the yes percentage would rise to if only charles nqua..lalallla, dr. beetroot and ms. ivy were the only ones to experience the death penalty

 

[HosstheBoss]

I love the “the death penalty is not a deterrent” argument! Your right it’s not. We seem to think lately that we stick people in jail as a deterrent to others. It’s retribution, punishment, revenge pure and simple. Stuff rehabilitation (I mean for the killers and rapists, not the dude that stole a loaf of bread). The justice system is the only voice the victim has, and the criminal has to pay for that suffering.

 

[nthdimension]

I love the “the death penalty is not a deterrent” argument! Your right it’s not. We seem to think lately that we stick people in jail as a deterrent to others. It’s retribution, punishment, revenge pure and simple. Stuff rehabilitation (I mean for the killers and rapists, not the dude that stole a loaf of bread). The justice system is the only voice the victim has, and the criminal has to pay for that suffering.

Perhaps, but whenever the death penalty is raised the argument is made that it is a means to reduce crime, i.e. a deterrent.

Actually imprisonment is intended to be a deterrent, both to the person currently imprisoned committing further crimes when released and to other criminals. This view arises because otherwise there is no real purpose in for instance putting someone in jail for 5 years for a crime if we know that when they leave they'll just commit further crimes. That is if imprisonment does not deter them from further crime. The other aspect of imprisonment is simply to keep the criminal away from society for a certain period commensurate with the crime they have committed. In reality prisons are such that we often convert minor criminals in much more serious criminals, especially juveniles.

We want to feel that there has been justice. That a criminal has been punished for wronging us. The reality is that life isn't fair. Everyday day people are wronged in various ways by others, and most of the time there is no restitution.

 

[dominic]

the death penalty really only affects a very very small percentage of crimes - the number of people that would be executed is miniscule compared to the number that are caught and convicted

the real issue here is not the death penalty but the lack of a working crime prevention, detection and prosecution system - as someone working in the justice system it is obvious that it does not work

more cops, more courts, more jails, better training and they really need to pay prosecutors a decent wage

 

[Syndyre]

True, but the fact that the death penalty is an option may deter some people from committing crimes, and if it does then its done its job. If it takes the execution of 100 guilty criminals to save 1 innocent person from being attacked then I'm all for it. The real deterrent though is probably the probability of being caught, convicted and jailed, which seems to be ridiculously low at this point.

 

[dominic]

yeah - i am pretty sure a death penalty operating in an environment where there is a reasonable certainty that if you do crime you will get caught and convicted would be a deterrent to some or may have an effect on the excessive violence accompanying crime in SA

but as per your second sentence i believe the proper time to evaluate this is when the proper criminal justice systems are in place - until then it is an emotional argument tending towards playing on populist ignorance (i.e. a political football) rather than a pragmatic approach to reducing crime

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Like Dom said - if the justice system makes a mistake and sentence an innocent man to death, and only after said innocent man is dead the error in judgement is caught out... what then? Who will be responsible?

Right now it is too risky, what with dockets going missing and so on... it'll probably be easy to bribe somebody to be hanged/killed/whatever...

 

[Syndyre]

Exactly, I'm surprised the government hasn't thought of reintroducing it as a way of being "tough on crime" without actually putting in any extra effort.

The criminal justice system is a joke at the moment though, in Grahamstown 99% of the burglaries are by juveniles because they seem to be de facto exempt from any form of punishment or justice.

 

[nthdimension]

TIf it takes the execution of 100 guilty criminals to save 1 innocent person from being attacked then I'm all for it.

What if it takes the execution of 10 innocent people?

 

[Syndyre]

Obviously that's unacceptable, which is why I specified guilty.

 

[snugam]

Vote Yes for the Death penalty and you ar part & partial to that person's death; even though you had no part in the judgement!!!! I know crime is bad; but no one person can choose over another peron's life - PERIOD!!!!

Sorry GUYS, but "Get a Life" ha-ha

 

[DigitalSoldier]

Vote Yes for the Death penalty and you ar part & partial to that person's death; even though you had no part in the judgement!!!! I know crime is bad;

Part of that persons death or part of saving some one else from being killed by that murderer ?

but no one person can choose over another peron's life - PERIOD!!!!

True only the criminals have a right over who lives and who dies ? Like an elderly couply getting burned by kettle water or a baby getting raped all in the name of curing aids

 

[Alan]

I agree

 

[Alan]

Sorry GUYS, but "Get a Life" ha-ha

Here we go with the personal insults again . Going by his post he obviously belongs to the.....

hell, you know what I'm going to say

 

[Syndyre]

Vote Yes for the Death penalty and you ar part & partial to that person's death; even though you had no part in the judgement!!!! I know crime is bad; but no one person can choose over another peron's life - PERIOD!!!!

Sorry GUYS, but "Get a Life" ha-ha

You might have a point if we lived in a civilised country, unfortunately we don't.

 

[surface]

You might have a point if we lived in a civilised country, unfortunately we don't.

David Bullard is in full agreement with you.

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/Columnists/DavidBullard/Article.aspx?id=308906

"I would love to live in the sort of civilised society where there is no place for the death penalty, but I don’t. I live in one of the most violent countries in the world. I’ve got more chance of being killed here than I have in a warzone. I’m fed up and so are 76.5% of my countryman, so can we please have that referendum aa soon as possible."

 

[noxibox]

"I would love to live in the sort of civilised society where there is no place for the death penalty, but I don’t. I live in one of the most violent countries in the world. I’ve got more chance of being killed here than I have in a warzone. I’m fed up and so are 76.5% of my countryman, so can we please have that referendum aa soon as possible."

According to a report by Christopher Stone at Harvard New Orleans has a higher murder rate than the Western Cape and Gauteng is only slightly worse than Washington DC. Even though the US overall has a much lower rate than South Africa.