Can some one give me good debate topics why the death penalty should be abolished?

Question

I am against the death penalty and I need some good topics to argue my case. Can anyone help?

Answer 1

First start with the arguments for it and rebut them.



1. It acts as a deterrent. There is very little if any proof this is the case. First it is illogical to assume that death is the only deterrent. Where the death penalty does not exist people do not consider a long stint in prison worth doing before deciding to commit the crime. Evidence has shown that better policing creates more of a deterrent, increasing the chance of being caught rather than increasing the penalty.

2. The bible commands it. The bible commands the death penalty for any number of sins. It also bans the eating of shellfish. To implement the death penalty because of the bible is both selective in the extreme and in breach of most Western Countries' seperation of church and state.

3. Prisons cost too much. We have all heard every pro death penalty person quote some huge sum as to the cost of keeping maximum security prisoners in prison. This argument is flawed on three counts. Firstly they are mistaking average cost with marginal cost. The average cost of a prisoner is huge, but the cost of one extra prisoner is almost nothing, given that the prison stucture already exists. Secondly putting people to death generally costs a great deal more. The extra security of death row prisons is a cost. Appeal processes (surely even the most pro capital punishment loonies accept that mistakes can be made and all death penalty cases must be subject to review) can take years or even decades and cost the tax payer a great deal. Finally we place a value beyond money on all other human lives. We do not allow sick people to die just because it is expensive.



Then it is a fact that the death penalty is not fairly applied. Disadvantaged groups tend to be sentenced to death far more than those who are not disadvantaged - even for similar crimes.

Answer 2

Heres some points:



-How can a government that condemns murder, murder it's citizens?



-There is the virtual certainty that genuinely innocent people will be executed and that there is no possible way of compensating them for this miscarriage of justice.



-A second reason, that is often overlooked, is the hell the innocent family and friends of criminals must also go through in the time leading up to and during the execution and which will often cause them serious trauma for years afterwards.



-There must always be the concern that the state can administer the death penalty justly, most countries have a very poor record on this. In America, a prisoner can be on death row for many years (on average 11 years {2004 figure}) awaiting the outcome of numerous appeals and their chances of escaping execution are better if they are wealthy and/or white rather than poor and/or black irrespective of the actual crimes they have committed which may have been largely forgotten by the time the final decision is taken.



-There is no such thing as a humane method of putting a person to death irrespective of what the State may claim. Every form of execution causes the prisoner suffering, some methods perhaps cause less than others, but be in no doubt that being executed is a terrifying and gruesome ordeal for the criminal. What is also often overlooked is the extreme mental torture that the criminal suffers in the time leading up to the execution. How would you feel knowing that you were going to die tomorrow morning at 8.00 a.m.?



-There may be a brutalising effect upon society by carrying out executions - this was apparent in this country during the 17th and 18th centuries when people turned out to enjoy the spectacle.



-The death penalty is the bluntest of "blunt instruments," it removes the individual's humanity and with it any chance of rehabilitation and their giving something back to society.

Answer 3

Does a murder stop and think while committing a murder..." If I do this I will get the death penalty " I don't think so. The state of mind when one commits a capital crime is get it done. They are not thinking of consequesnces. Therefore it is not a deterrant.



Statistics show more minorities are sent to death row for the same crimes as whites.



With all the appeals etc. it can cost much more to put a person to death than to keep him alive.



Mistakes have been made and innocent people have been put to death for crimes they did not commit.



God said Thou Shall Not Kill.



I wonder if the death penalty is more revenge for the victim's family than punnishment for the criminal.



Some on death row know they have screwed up their lives and welcome the death as it ends the misery of their miserable life.



Most industrial, civilized countries in the world have abolished the death penalty. The US maintains it and we have one of the highest crime rates. What does that tell you?



These are some reasons. There are more but this will get you pointed in the right direction.

Answer 4

http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/index.do

All I can say is it is wrong to take a life no matter what .

For as many points as you can make on either side taking a life is senseless . Even that of the criminal who kills multiple times . He should be studied . Drug and examined yearly till we find out what makes us kill . Then cure it . Murder is just like all other crimes . So then why not by logic determine that all people who break the law will do so continually .

End repeat offenders by execution also at the first crime .

This makes as much sense as imposing a punishment of any kind . You are simply looked away till you come to accept that you can not commit crimes . .

Answer 5

Not me either, can't think of a one.



I was in prison. I know how much it cost to incarcerate a person for a year. I have no problem whacking killers and child-molesters.



I am sorry I can't give you any ammunition for your argument.





EDIT: Sorry. I have to say something about ekekl's comment below:

"A second reason, that is often overlooked, is the hell the innocent family and friends of criminals must also go through in the time leading up to and during the execution and which will often cause them serious trauma for years afterwards."



For a person to say that the time immediately preceeding the death of the murderer is going to cause serious trauma for years to come is asinine. What kind of trauma do you think the family of the 8 year old in Purcell, Oklahoma went throught when their daughter was abducted by a close neighbor, repeatedly raped, then bludgened to death with a wooden kitchen-style cutting board, made a failed attempt to decapitate her, chopped her up, then stuffed in a rubbermaid storage box... He was keeping the body because he had bought a meat grinder and BBQ skewers and was going to grind her up for dinner. I am not kidding. See the link below. So, if you expect me to believe that the innocent family of this child will be more traumatized by the death of this child-molesting murderer than by the incomprehensible death of their chlid - you must simply not be as smart as the average bear. Or, a bleeding-heart california hippie la-la-land lefty liberal.

Answer 6

I favor the death penalty. But, I have heard that sentencing a person to death is more expensive on average than life imprisonment. This includes all of the legal expenses incident to appeal after appeal.

Answer 7

I think the word you are looking for is expanded not abolished. If you don't know good topics to argue your case then can you really be informed enough about the topic to have made up your mind?



Well here might be a good one, use the scumsucking murderers for medical experiments. Save a rabbits life. If they agree to the experimentation then they can commute their sentence to life.

Answer 8

The best reason I can come up with is that people that have been in prison for decades have been vindicated with new technology (dna).

I just don't have faith that everyone in this country receives a fair trial. Just look at the o.j. case.

If you happen to be poor, your chances of being convicted rises.

The majority of people sitting on death row are probably guilty, but not all of them. There have been cases of people being convicted, put to death, only to later find out the evidence was tainted. I just don't trust the system enough to allow them to actually take a life.

Answer 9

If you are against, then you should know why you are against it. You shouldn't need somone telling you why you are against it.



Personally, if you commit the crime, then you should be willing to take the punishment - including the death penalty.

Answer 10

well im actually for the death penalty, but you can always go with the fact that the united states is the only industrialized nation that still uses capital punishment, and really only a handful of countries in the world still use it.

Answer 11

There isn't a good debate topic for it to be abolished.

Answer 12

First it is against God to kill. He is the last judge of life or death. Second isn't it better to let them live with their guilt then to give them peace.

Answer 13

Sorry, I believe in the death penalty, and can actually back it up. If you're going to have an opinion, you should be able to back it up yourself. If you still have to research it, you shouldn't yet have an opinion on the matter.

Answer 14

It costs more to put someone to death than it does to put them up for life ( on account of the appeals)

It is unconstitutional, as ity is cruel and unusual punishment

It has not been proven to deter crime in any state that has it

Most don't even get out to death, but die form natural causes waiting for their appeals to go through

Answer 15

The best one; Dems need all the votes they can get in 08. Almost none of the criminals on death row are Republican or conservative rather they are either Democrat or Liberal; I can't explain it but maybe it would make for good research.

Answer 16

Ask whoever gave you your opinion. How else can you be against something without a reason?

Answer 17

No, I can't. I am pro-capital punishment.

Answer 18

no