Idea: Pay-Per-View Executions

[AgentOrange]

I disagree....I'm looking for a 100% way to make sure these people dont kill again and the only way to do that is DEATH.



<< IMHO killing those criminals is just showing them mercy, for they don't suffer at all! >>



Knowing every day for months (years actually) that your day of death is set and coming is suffering.Just imagine that last walk knowing in 20 minutes you (a healthy person) are going to die.

 

[Elledan]

<<Knowing every day for months (years actually) that your day of death is set and coming is suffering.Just imagine that last walk knowing in 20 minutes you (a healthy person) are going to die. >>

During that last walk they know that their life will be over in 20 minutes. A person in a labor camp knows that he/she will have to spend there the rest of his/her life. Which of those two things in worse? I'd say the latter.

I see a few big disadvantages regarding the death penalty:

> They don't suffer long enough: why letting them 'suffer' for months/years when you can let them suffer (and then not only sitting in a cell, counting off the days, but working every day, with just enough food to keep you alive) for decades?

> When they're sitting in those cells at Death Row, they aren't productive, they only cost us money. In a labour camp, they would all be very productive (threatened by heavily armed guards) and since they wouldn't get paid, such a labour camp could be profitable to the Government even in a financial way.

 

[PakG1]

Regarding the labour camp idea, I think you'd have to have guards and supervisors who were actually able to consider the prisoners dirt enough to make them work the way they're supposed to. Obviously, these kinds of people exist, but man, I'd kinda think that they have the mentality to do what those same prisoners did, which is scary. But onto the important stuff.

If you had the labour camp alternative instead of the death penalty or life-long imprisonment, you'd have to have something for the prisoners to do. Now the question arises, what would you make them do? If you want them to do some civil construction, they'd need engineering skills. Would every killer have those? No. OK, how about building houses, where a supervisor gives orders? I'm not sure how comfortable people would feel about living in houses built by those convicts. It's possible that they'd be fine with it. If not, what about garbage pick-up guys? You're starting to notice a trend with this stuff. All these jobs require workers to be OUTSIDE of the camp. The public won't want that. Then what? Turn the camp into a sweat shop? The only ones who can benefit from that are corporations. Have the corporations make money off of the prisoners instead of the government and thereby the public? Uh uh. Then what? There are a lot of complicated issues here.

 

[Pretender]

<< * electric chair: everything is being done to ensure that the guy on the chair doesn't feel a thing;
>>

WTF are you talking about? Have you ever felt 10 volts? Try 10,000. Some people don't die after the first zap, and they need to turn the juice on multiple times. All the while they are slowly dying to death from internal shock to their organs. Not feeling a thing? I'd think they'd be feeling pretty damn bad, and the natural response to quickly stand up or jump away from the shock is countered by the retraints - that in itself is more torture.

 

[Jmman]

I have a couple of comments. First of all, why is the death penalty more expensive than housing someone for life? The average yearly cost of an inmate is >30k, and rising. Executions should be much cheaper. As far as the death penalty, there is sound historical and legal precedents for the death penalty starting with biblical times, &quot;an eye for an eye.&quot; Secondly, in countries that have swift, harsh punishment, crime rates are very low. If you know they are going to chop your hand off the first time you steal something, you bet you are going to think twice about it. Also if executions were televised (I think they should be free), don't you think that were be a huge deterrant to crime? To be told you might get the death penalty for a crime is one thing, but to actually see an execution would be a real eye opener!! And yes, the death penalty is cruel and harsh, but it it any harsher than say blowing up 200 men, women, and children?

 

[jonnyjack]

the labor camp idea isn't very good either...so what about the innocent people who are convicted? they have to work in a camp that is like &quot;hell on earth&quot;??? what if it took 20 years before evidence surfaced that they are indeed innocent?

 

[Pretender]

<< the labor camp idea isn't very good either...so what about the innocent people who are convicted? they have to work in a camp that is like &quot;hell on earth&quot;??? what if it took 20 years before evidence surfaced that they are indeed innocent? >>

I'd prefer the death penalty, but the case for a labor camp is strong - when they are discovered innocent, at leas the person isn't dead and can go back to society. Whether or not the person is now angry at society for fvcking them up for half their life is debateable, which is why I simply prefer the death penalty

 

[jonnyjack]

Pretender: i would rather get the death penalty too...but only if its painless...i really don't see why we need to inflict pain on someone...ending their life should be to keep them out of society not revenge...

 

[Elledan]

Pretender, point granted, the electric chair isn't painless. I should have known better...


Anyway, I think that we should take a look at those labour camps used in the Soviet Union for a good example. They were mostly chopping trees, digging trenches etc. The real low-to-the-ground kind of jobs.

I shall see if I can find some good links about those camps. If any of you knows of a good site, please post a link here. Thanks.

 

[PakG1]

You really think prisoners can chop trees or dig trenches in the US? Even if they could, the camps would have to be mobile then, there are only so many trenches that you can dig in one spot. And the trees thing, well, what of forestry workers? Another thing is, no matter what you get those guys to do, you'd be putting other people out of jobs, people who might not necessarily have the skills to go to another job or money to get the skills. I'm not gonna say Canada because up here, the decision is final. (ya, I like too, I have to say)

 

[bonk102]

i think pay per view executions would be perfect for the US, throughout history, we've always watched our prisoners be killed, usually publically in teh square, and crowds would form to see these people die, this is just the next technological step in this realm. i think it would be a great source of revenue for the prison systems, and be a sort of scared straight sort of idea to scare people out of doing crimes, i know that the special MTV showed awhile back, the updated Scared Straight special would have scared the hell out of me if i was one of those kids, and i'm 21 years old, so i know all those little kids that watched it have it in their heads to never do something to go to prison, and i think this would be the same idea

 

[Supradude]

i didn't read through all the threads so forgive me if i'm repeating something said already...

but do we really want to see an execution, my roomate and friends were watching &quot;the green mile&quot; the other day and i caught part of the ellectric chair scene, and frankly it was rather disturbing... my 0.02

 

[Lovepig]

Pay per view execution would be great.

Our whole penal system needs to be revamped. We get confused as to wheter the goal is to 'punish' or to 'reform'. For the families of the victims things can NEVER be made better, no matter how many executions they watch.

If i remember correctly it costs us between $65,000-$85,000 to house, feed, protect, entertain, and provided advanced degrees to our prisoners (for each one) who are incarcerated. Hmmm.. I don't know how much it costs to kill 'em but that's ALOT of cash.

We need to reach a point where we decide (for repeat offenders)that they cannot (will not) be reformed. Then THEY get a choice; life imprisonment of hard labor to offset the economic burden they put on society, or a cheap death (a few strong ropes and a rust knife ought to do, or one good ol' bullet). They choose... (btw, not too many repeat offenders are later found innocent, at least not THAT innocent...

 

[PakG1]

Repeat offenders are a different story altogether.

 

[tgillitzr]

As far as costs go, death penalty is not cheaper when you compare it to a high security prison term of 40 years.

As of last year, a high security prison term, runs about $80,000 per year, per cell. =80,000x40=3.2 Million dollars.

As of last year, depending on method, death penalty costs an average of abou 2.1 Million dollars.
I don't remember the break down on costs, I'd have to dig up the report I did last year.

 

[cxim]

<<>> What do you all think about pay-per-view executions? <<>>

screw that !!! We already pay for the trial, the upkeep of the felons, the facility &amp; the execution !!!

Now you want us to pay more to see how OUR money is spent !