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Does the death penalty really act as a deterrent for future crime? (Parkland shooter's verdict)


This is in relation to the Parkland shooter's verdict yesterday where the jurors gave him life in prison (no parole) instead of death. He killed 17 people. Families are outraged at verdict. I'm surprised at verdict. If that isn't a death penalty case I don't know what is.

But does the DP really act as a deterrent for future crimes like this? Mass shootings still happen regardless. Especially in these mass shooting cases where the gunman usually kills himself at the end. Your thoughts?

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I don't care if it acts as a deterrent or not. A dead psycho killer is better than a live one every day of the week.

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I doubt he will make it long in prison. Someones going to take him out eventually.

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Dahmer style

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And Whitey Bulger style. Both were brutally beaten to death. Seems like a more fit punishment than just being put to sleep.

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That's actually what I was thinking when I made my comment. I assume he will be transferred to State Prison, so he's not going to live life completely separate from other inmates.

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I really wonder what rationale some of those jurors in NOT giving him the death penalty? This is a perfect case of a death penalty. šŸ‘

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I'd rather see them suffer in jail and get raped by inmates.

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Is he going to suffer and get raped though? He is likely to be in solitary confinement.

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I can always hope security shoves a baton up their ass.

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[deleted]

I couldn't care less about revenge. A bullet in the back of the head and you're done.

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Agreed. It also stops them from getting out at some point and doing it again. yeah I know, "life sentence" but at any point the Govt can decide to let him out.

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I think a guy that does something horrible like this should get the death penalty or a full life imprisonmentā€¦ No Parole, not ever, he gets carried out of there once itā€™s all proven in court and he should get shoved in a tiny cement cell.

And no, I donā€™t think the death penalty stops these nuts, they are violent beasts. Lock them up forever if they are convicted of awful crimes (murder, rape, arson)

Any person that murders people is a real danger, get them into a deep prison hole quickly, never let them loose.

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A bullet in the back of the head and an unmarked grave is a hell of a lot cheaper than imprisonment for life.

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I fully understand your sentiment, but on some occasions the wrong man has gotten a really undeserved sentence.

We have probably imprisoned and possibly executed people that were innocent, we should be cautious about criminal law.

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Yes, but in this specific case with Parkland, it is super obvious and very clear that Nikolas Cruz is the killer. There is video and audio of him boasting about his plans which shows careful thought and premeditation. So, I think for a case like this, death penalty is appropriate. If this isn't a DP case then what is?

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I understand you, heā€™s obviously a dangerous maniac and would likely kill again, fair point.

Lockdown Forever, bread and water twice a day.

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You are right, case is too high profile, he will likely he isolated for his own safety.

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Yes I know that is the accepted narrative. It is better that 1,000 murderers go free than that one innocent man is executed. I think that's nuts and that it's obvious that the price of one innocent man being executed is well worth it to get rid of 1,000 murderers.

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Iā€™m not sure how you got that from my post but you do you.


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Does life in prison work any better or a deterrent?

If prison is meant to rehabilitate the prisoner but the prisoner has no chance of ever seeing the outside of their cell again what does society gain by keeping them alive?

Should the prisoner have a say in the choice between life and death?

Does it really matter?

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Here in NJ they did away with the death penalty. Prisoners currently on death row were given the choice of remaining on death row or life without parole. Then governor Corzine signed an executive order commuting all to life without parole.
The state is now facing many lawsuits because he denied them their due process.

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That's similar to what happened to Charles Manson and his crew. They all got death but got their sentenced commuted to life in the early 1970s.

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As they should, IMHO. If you're basically being told by the state that you have no place in normal society a person should have the right to choose death instead without resorting to all kinds half-assed methods at attempting suicide in prison.

It strikes me as very odd that we have tons of people out there screaming for the right to abortion but we haven't come to grips with a person's right to choose their own time and method of death in our society. One of the more bass-ackwards aspects of what kind of people we are.

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most of victim family would been against death penalties before shooting. just like juries is, which is why weak juries have clemence instead of death for nerd shooter.

people only care about death penalities if own families is victim. everyones should be more death penality pro and we get more deaths sentence.

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The guy was nuts, had made similar threats before, and been reported to the authorities before. He should never have been on the street.

Probably not much of a deterrent anymore. When people were hanged or electrocuted, and the sentence was carried out within a year or two of conviction, it probably was more so.

At any rate, you could say the DP is just - as long as the conviction is bullet-proof. It just seems to be falling out of favor in the first world. Apparently it costs as much as LWOP, but I don't see why, other than paying all the lawyers.

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no but its badass and should be used as often as possible regardless

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Does the killer ask their victims or their families how they will feel?

Why are people always so worried about the killer and how they might be executed and if they will feel pain or not?

And how do we really know if it is an effective deterrent or not? It's possible that some people might actually be deterred but obviously no one is going to post "I'd kill someone but you know, death penalty!" on their Facebook page lol.

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