Quote Originally Posted by raisedbywolves View Post
I think this is a good way to look at the issue.

I have been on both sides of the issue in my life, and done a complete 180. I was pro death penalty back when I was in LE, but over the years started changing my mind. Now I am very against it for many reasons: possibility of innocence, cost for death row inmates is much higher than life in prison inmates, barbaricness of it.

When I lived in TX and was transitioning my viewpoint, I was talking with a bunch of coworkers about it and brought up the fact that if you support the death penalty you should be willing to advocate for death if your brother or mother was accused of a Capital Murder. They all got really mad and said "you can't bring family into this". That's the point though, you have to think about it like that in my mind, or you're a HUGE hypocrite. If it's good enough for every one else, then it's good enough for you and your family. I think looking at it from the victim's family viewpoint it also important...would you be willing to ask for no death penalty if your loved one was killed and you had been against the DP in the past?

I actually think we would be a lot better off as a nation if we would look at more things (abortion, immigration, etc) in this manner, but we as a nation want to pretend that it only happens to other people and doesn't affect us, so as a nation we develop very set in stone viewpoints on things we don't fully understand or think is beneath us.
It's just so pointless. The Ted Bundy's of the world are obviously not deterred by the possibility of the dp. And if it's not about deterrence, what's the point? Vengeance? We keep someone on ice for 16 years and then we put them to sleep? That doesn't seem very satisfactory to me. We spend a ton of money and for what.

If we want to reduce crime we need to find a way to deal with the causes. If we want vengeance, give the victims survivors the power to determine the punishment. (not practical, but...)