Christians And The Death Penalty

[Swift_Psycho 1]

It's a very interesting question for sure - if somebody is deemed mentally ill, we generally lock them up in a mental hospital rather than a prison when they commit a crime. People are also able to use 'temporary insanity' as a defense, although that is usually not a good strategy based on the usual result - that the jury doesn't buy it. But how do we treat psychopaths/sociopaths (those words are synonyms)? Generally we hold them fully responsible for their actions, assuming they meet the IQ requirement of legal sanity or whatever. The thing is, although they lack empathy, sympathy, or any moral guidelines in their brain, they certainly are aware of the moral guidelines of the society they live in, and are aware that breaking laws comes with consequences. Just because they don't feel the slightest bit of remorse does not mean that they did not understand that their actions were regarded as corrupt and illegal.

Psychopaths and sociopaths tend to be used interchangeably, though they technically describe two different situations. Psychopaths are usually assumed to be "born" the way they are. Others might be born with a predisposition for a lack of empathy and other fun traits, and often become full blown sociopaths because of some sort of nurture development. Abuse by parents perhaps. Maybe even culture, as individualistic cultures might reasonably be a prime breeding ground for sociopathic traits to develop. I know that one study I looked at a few years back found that in many East Asian countries, there was about an average of 1 in 1000 people that would fall under the category of "sociopath" (the majority of sociopaths aren't killers, but naturally their "illness" does affect their lives and how they might be willing to exploit others without remorse). In America, estimates have ranged as high as 4 percent for men, 1 percent for women. Of course because those are such high estimates, I'm curious to find out how strict the guidelines for making this assessment was (particularly because I think all of us do have some sociopathic tendencies on some small level; to think there is a sharp line is kind of ridiculous). In any case, the difference between those East Asian countries and America is so high it probably isn't a stretch to hypothesize that our culture itself (individualistic vs. collectivistic) might play a role in the development of sociopathic tendencies.I understand your objection to letting sociopaths off the hook. I think this is just one of those points where I may have more sympathy for sociopaths simply because of my view of determinism/free will. Most of them probably do understand the consequences of their decisions, but they live in a world where they feel no real connection to people and thus for them morals seem as stupid and senseless as say, believing in God is to rational atheists. For them it's just senseless to restrict your actions the way our morals restrict ours. And for those sociopaths that are ill enough to need to kill or some shit like that, it's usually because they are merely trying to feel alive and can't without doing some fucked up shit (unfortunately). A couple sources I've read on the subject describe these guys as going through most of life feeling just utterly bored and typically they experience the world the way we do five minutes after we've woken up, except it's like that for them basically all the time. They create games and such (maybe games that require horrible actions) to try and feel alive. I'm not saying that it's okay, but I can understand why they wouldn't have any internal qualms about fucking with other people in their games if they just simply can't feel any connection to them.Again, this all goes out the windown if such a person screwed with my family or friends, I admit that. Just making a case for these people that might at least be strong enough to take the death penalty off the table even if we were sure that they were 100% guilty of the accused horrible crime.

[phlegm 6]

Thou shalt not kill.Christians are hilarious.

I always love bursting the bubble of those who keep qouting this. The commandment when properly translated states thou shalt not murder. And there is a difference.

[BigDMcGee 3,354]

I always love bursting the bubble of those who keep qouting this. The commandment when properly translated states thou shalt not murder. And there is a difference.

I should hope so. Because the Jews, in establishing the Kingdom of Israel, pretty much committed genocide on the people who were previously residing there. Thou shalt not murder, but genocide, that's cool. Nice god

[HollywoodAFD 0]

Wrong

[KramitDaToad 0]

I should hope so. Because the Jews, in establishing the Kingdom of Israel, pretty much committed genocide on the people who were previously residing there. Thou shalt not murder, but genocide, that's cool. Nice god

"The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed." - George CarlinSorry to hear about your Dad BigD. Hope you are holding up OK.

[BigDMcGee 3,354]

"The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed." - George CarlinSorry to hear about your Dad BigD. Hope you are holding up OK.

Well, I have not, in my moment of weakness and sorrow, come to embrace Jesus as my personal lord and savior, so I think I'm doing OK.

[Spademan 94]

Well, I have not, in my moment of weakness and sorrow, come to embrace Jesus as my personal lord and savior, so I think I'm doing OK.

I chuckled.

[KramitDaToad 0]

Well, I have not, in my moment of weakness and sorrow, come to embrace Jesus as my personal lord and savior, so I think I'm doing OK.

Thank God

[speedz99 145]

"The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed." - George Carlin

awesome

[timwakefield 68]

Cop killer gets first New Hampshire death sentence in 49 years

[HollywoodAFD 0]

Pfffttt.... we do one a week in Texas.

[timwakefield 68]

On a slightly related note, I recently learned that John Walsh, the host and creator of America's Most Wanted, is the father of a boy who was abducted and murdered in 1981 (at age 6), and that John and his wife helped create the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984. Before I had just figured he was a guy who looked good on tv, but I totally gained a lot of respect for him when I learned about his son and his efforts to help stop similar crimes from occurring, and, with his show, to stop their perpetrators from getting away. I found it strange that my idea of him changed so much based on the fact that his son was killed, but it did. Oh and his son's killer was never brought to justice, although the main suspect did die in jail for an unrelated crime, but was never charged in Adam Walsh's murder.

Interesting follow-up: the Adam Walsh case was officially closed last week by the Florida police, having finally determined that Ottis Toole, who died in prison over ten years ago, was Walsh's killer. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/a...0,1444200.story

[HollywoodAFD 0]

Interesting follow-up: the Adam Walsh case was officially closed last week by the Florida police, having finally determined that Ottis Toole, who died in prison over ten years ago, was Walsh's killer. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/a...0,1444200.story

Well...that saved tons of money in execution costs then.

[chrozzo 19]

rape/murder = deathothers = other stuff

[vonteego3 0]

rape/murder = deathothers = other stuff

absolutely. That 19 year old kid who sleeps with his 16 year old girlfriend should be put to death.

[YonYonson 156]

the death penalty for any form of rape cannot be rationalized.

[phlegm 6]

the death penalty for any form of rape cannot be rationalized.

Ill check back in after your 13 year old girl is gangraped by a bunch of crips.

[SuitedAces21 2,723]

Ill check back in after your 13 year old girl is gangraped by a bunch of crips.

While I would be emotionally destroyed, and filled with murderous rage, the death penalty would not be justified. Thats not to say I wouldnt want to kill them myself though. But that wouldnt unrape my daughter. And I'd bet it wouldnt make me feel any better, nor her.

[chrozzo 19]

i had something to say......but as i reread a couple of the posts it slipped from my mind