A man held in a darkened room
His tormentors ever watchful
Playing games with his fragile mind
They dangle hope before him
Will freedom come before death?
These words repeated over. Days
Weeks, months, never ending
Torture exquisite, intentionally refined
Years in debilitating isolation
Hope and death the only constant
The first is lost, his captors proclaim
Holding him down, the waiting crowd
Leans forwards. Morbid fascination
Sustained and fueled by righteous anger
The terror in his eyes shines bright
But there is no reprieve. We are right
They say and, with that, his light goes out………
Years of imprisonment, mental and emotional torture carried out on a daily basis before finally murdering a man in cold blood. There is no remorse from any of the perpetrators and they believe that they have every right to do what they have done. Do you think that they deserve the death penalty for their crimes?
What’s described here IS the death penalty. Is it ever deserved?
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you.
Lisa
x
All About Life 
Wow. This is a powerful piece, very timely.
Death penalty? I am pro life, but, when you take a life, you should be punished for it.
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Thank you :O) x
But what should the punishment be……..?
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Death. Anyone who mercilessly kills a person should be put to death, no better punishment than that.
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So the punishment for someone who mercilessly kills is to be mercilessly killed?
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Yes. That’s justice, for me. You killed someone, you took their life away from them, so what better punishment do you deserve? Your life to be taken away from you too.
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Whatever the circumstances? If someone is schizophrenic and they kill someone believing that they are possessed by a devil who’s mission is to destroy the planet? Would they deserve to lose their life?
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I think if the killer is suffering with a disorder that would lead him to take a life, accidentally. That’s a different thing, he needs help. Taking his life would be futile and meaningless.
I will only agree to put down or execute someone if he’s a true blood murderer, someone with a motive, someone who’s willing to kill for the pleasure of it, or revenge.
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Ok so what if a drunk driver, someone who drinks or takes drugs and then deliberately gets behind the wheel, kills a man’s wife and his only child? In his pain and grief he kills that man. Should he die too? With the logic of the death penalty- a life for a life – he should have that right…
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It changes the opinion once something so innocent is involved. For me, I can only agree with the death penalty if the who will die is totally evil.
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Someone who is born evil due to an accident of genetics or someone who becomes evil as a result of their environment and circumstances?
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Someone who becomes evil as a result of their environment and circumstances.
What circumstances? Like an abusive childhood? A failed life? A life without support, a life full of violence?
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Yes, if the only thing someone has ever known in their life is abuse and violence and never experienced love…..
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Were you thinking of death row in the USA? I think that is the most barbaric system. One of the many reasons I think our closest ties are wth the European Union.
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I was indeed and, I agree with you, the system is utterly barbaric
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I believe the death penalty is never justified. What if the person may be innocent? Even if they are a cold blooded killer how will it help anything to have them die too?
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You’re right, there is always the risk that the person didn’t do it – good point x
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Fantastic writing! Love the way you tell a story in a lyrical form!
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Ah thank you, I’m so glad you liked it 😊 xx
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I just don’t know! If an individual killed, or hurt, someone you hold dearly, then an individual’s reaction may be to want to hurt, or kill, in response. My wife, and I, often comment, abstractly, that pedophiles should be hung up by the testicles and left to rot. But what if that person is mentally ill in some way, and incapable of knowing right from wrong? You ask a very pertinent question, to which there is no one correct answer.
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You’re right Peter it’s a very complex subject with no correct answer. I just feel that, if it’s wrong for individuals to kill it must also be wrong for the State to do it in the name of the law especially as, the death penalty is pre-meditated and done in cold blood….
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I feel that the way the ‘state’ works is that innocent people will always be killed. It often isn’t about ‘truth’ but about looking like justice was done. Very different things. There are also motives within the system for people lie, as they get a wage to conform… follow the money and you get the system we have.
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Not sure I understand what you mean about following the money Tim…..
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everyone’s motives are determining by who pays their wage. In a complex system this can easily mean that ‘truth’ isn’t served. but survival within a system to generate wage security.
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Death penalty should be given for heinous crimes. Murder , rape and kidnapping are the sort of crimes that deserve the maximum penalty. Punishment is a deterrent.
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If that were true then there would be no murders in States that carry the death penalty surely…..
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Wow! Thoughtful post.
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Thank you 😊
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I believe that, while in theory the death penalty would be necessary, in practice it never really is. There are no guarantees in life which means that people can always change. It is only a question of if people change for the better. There is a reason Hammurabi’s Code, “eye for an eye,” is no longer a societal norm (except for prisoners, apparently).
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A very astute response. Thank you 😊
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