It's similar to why the death penalty doesn't work as a deterrent in the United States. People don't think that possible consequence applies to them, or they don't care.

I saw the video- hanging isn't really applicable here. It's really more slow strangling. Took the one guy about 5 minutes to stop struggling.

For added spectacle they sometimes leave one hand free...

I agree that the death penalty does't work particularly well as a deterrent however it has other uses.

The first is to make sure that people who got life in prison, were not later released by a liberal judge. Several of these people went on to murder again. The second reason for the death penalty is to prevent repeat offenses.

I think having the death penalty for lesser crimes than 1st degree murder is a mistake. It creates a cost benefit analysis in the criminal mind where the reasoning goes like this. Punishment for kidnapping and rape is death. The punishment for murder is death, so if I kidnap and rape someone, I am better off killing them, because if I kill them, the penalty is the same,and I am less likely to get caught if I kill the victim and hide the body.

There is a combination of factors which affect crime, punishment is one of them. However, a much more importaint factor is, your belief that you will get caught.
If you believe there is no chance you will get caught, it does not matter in the least what the possible punishment is. This is part of the mob mentality, a person in the group feels safer in not being catchable.
Also if you believe your police/judges are biased or bribable, that will also change your likely hood of committing a crime.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894775,00.html
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[edited] Around 1800, British hangings were attended by huge crowds, and since spectators were preoccupied with watching the gallows, hangings were favorite hunting grounds for pickpockets. Naturally, picking a pocket was a capital offense.

If opponents of capital punishment had to sum up their entire case in one tableau, it would be a scene showing a 19th century English pickpocket reaching for the pocket of a spectator at the hanging of a pickpocket.
== ==

Criminals do not believe they will be caught, and are perfectly willing to kill witnesses just to be sure. Capital punishment is expensive to impose, does not deter, and probably causes increased death and suffering because of the incentives place on the criminal.

Capital punishment for horrific crimes is legitimate and just. The reason I'm against it is that too many of the people who investigate crimes, prosecute alleged perpetrators and impose penalties are dishonest and corrupt.

I believe in the death penalty as well. But not in a circumstantial case. The guy that walks into a store and opens fire is an animal and needs to be put down like the rabid dog he is. The Aurora shooter pretty much qualifies as well.

Then you have the West Memphis Three (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three) and numerous other cases where young people have been convicted of capital offenses after long, intense interrogations without legal counsel. That is the majority of the evidence.

Most times, and most states, in a death penalty case the jury has a two stage process. The first is a guilt or innocence phase. Then there is a second deliberation process for the death penalty or life.

There should be a jury sentence that can be implemented that is a a death penalty sentence after ten years, but the state has an Innocence Project type group (www.innocenceproject.org) that is funded to pick over the evidence and make a second opinion on the case. It could be a mix of private and government funding.

Just throwing out an idea.

I saw the video- hanging isn't really applicable here. It's really more slow strangling. Took the one guy about 5 minutes to stop struggling. -- Eric at January 22, 2013 10:57 AM

If that is true (and I don't disbelieve you) that is cruel and unusual punishment by any standard. If you google "execution military execution chart for hanging" you can come up with this PDF: Procedure for Military Executions,No. 27-4, December 1947.

It is so sad that I am never amazed by any of the barbarism in the Muslim world.

"Capital punishment is expensive to impose, does not deter, and probably causes increased death and suffering because of the incentives place on the criminal."

The expense is artificially imposed, and delays are responsible for the lack of deterrence. Just consider what the prospect of death by self-defense does to a criminal's plans.

I am particularly amazed by those who insist that persons tried individually on the merits of their case cannot ever be determined culpable for their offense.

Sometimes, there is no doubt about a killer and her intent to continue killing. I do not want to feed this person for the rest of her life, and I don't want to degrade the guard by keeping a person in a cage forever.

I've heard similar to the posted article from friends who have lived in South America. At one time in Brazil, it was policy to execute shoplifters, but doing so failed to deter shoplifting.

We've all seen the research that says that the swiftness and surety of punishment is more of a deterrent than the severity of punishment. However, I think there is another, more important factor: the culture of the society has to be one that is dedicated to, for want of a better term, law and order. People in the society have to want law and desire social order; they have to believe that law is a force for good, that it is enacted reasonably and applied fairly. If the prevailing view in the culture is that might makes right, then all of life is nothing more than conflicts between factions, and crime is just war by other means.

Islamic society is where it is today because of its dedication to disorder and destruction. So, it's now surprise that when it tries to impose order, it fails miserably.

Thought-provoking comments - I learned a lot from the specifics - Does anyone know if my company might obtain a sample a form document to fill out ?

Hello Kate, my work colleague filled out a sample a form version here www.loc.gov and http://goo.gl/RIH1Mr