Sunday, February 15, 2009
Excerpts on Death Penalty
The Death Penalty is a form of torture
The cruelty of torture is evident. Like torture, an execution constitutes an extreme physical and mental assault on a person already rendered helpless by government authorities. Abolitionist groups claim that the cruelty of the death penalty is manifest not only in the execution but in the time spent under sentence of death, during which the prisoner is constantly contemplating his or her own death at the hands of the state. Prison is an extraordinarily severe punishment that should not be exacerbated with torture or the death penalty.
Torture Defined
Torture of prisoners violates the Eight Amendment’s provision against Cruel and Unusual Punishment, and also constitutes a violation of several international laws. The United Nations Convention on Torture defined torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
An example of torture in the US Criminal Justice System
In May 1998, a lawsuit was filed concerning conditions for death row inmates in Idaho Maximum Security Institution. The suit states that inmates are held in solitary confinement for 163 of every week's 168 hours in small concrete and steel cells with solid metal doors and a narrow slit for a window. Inmates are allowed out of their cells for a maximum of one hour a day, excluding weekends, for recreation, alone and handcuffed in one of 12 enclosed wire mesh pens measuring approximately seven by 15 feet. The prisoner named in the lawsuit, Randy McKinney, states that he has lived under such a regime for 16 years, and that such treatment constitutes torture.
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First of all, I got to say that I am totally on favor of the dead penalty. I believe God and what He says, so what ever is that the bible says I believe it and totally approve it (because the bible is the word of God). If someone had read the bible, he or she can see that on Exodus 20 is the ten amendments, and on exodus 21 are some other rules that God puts since the beginning for the well being of people.
ReplyDeleteOn Exodus 21:12 it says: "El que hiera a otro y lo mate será condenado a muerte." and in verse 14 it says: "Si el homicidio es premeditado, el asesino será condenado a muerte aun cuando busque refugio en mi altar." Verse 15, "El que mate a su padre o a su madre será condenado a muerte." And verse 16, "El que secuestre a otro y lo venda, o al ser descubierto lo tenga aun en su poder, será condenado a muerte." And you can continue reading and see that God is totally on favor of dead penalty, and so am I. God is millions of times more fair than the most fair man on the world, He is more good than the most good person on the world, and if He, the creator of the whole universe thinks that it is ok to kill some because of what he did, who am I or who is the world to tell the contrary. He created us, he knows us better than what we know us, He is wiser than us, He is more intelligent than us, He knows what He says and yet better, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. We can’t compete against Him.
I am sure that if we didn't tried to be more good and more wise than what God is, we wouldn't had this moral conflict, we would have this people on the dead row, because the dead row wouldn’t exist, they would just kill them not imprisoned them. I don't think that is good to have persons waiting for there dead. I mean, if they are going to kill them, better be fast. I do think that a death row inmate is experiencing mental anguish and I think that is a torture for the person. For me torture is causing physical or mental pain to a person as a form of punishment. And I think that the death row inmates pass through a severe mental torture, am not sure if physical too, but mental yes. And about the human right violation, I just prefer to say that if someone committed such a crime that deserve dead, just kill him, don't putted in a dead row.
In my opinion im not in favor of torture but maybe i am kind of in favor of the death penalty.The reason of what i say that i am kind of in favor is because i dont think we (humans) have the right to take someones life just like that.I mean that i understand God like Escobar said but i dont know i dont think people should take away anothers life.Although its actually not fair, for example someone killed your dad with the intention of killing, i mean its not fair not killing him too. Its like this ''ojo por ojo, diente por diente''. But i dont know becuase lets say that if you killed that person you are not going to feel better, your actually going to feel the same or worste becuase nobody is going to bring your father back. You jusy caused another pain in another family. Thats why im not really sure of what i think.
ReplyDeleteNow in my opinion of the torture im totally not in favor because i just think is not nice to make someone suffer. Its better to just do whatever you have to do but dont make that person suffer all his or her life if in the end that person y going to die.
This is a very strong and difficult theme to talk about. I definitely think that we all deserve to live and no one can take away this right that we have. But, thinking in another perspective, if someone killed a peron, I put my self in the shoes of the person affected and I will be so desperate that I would wanted him to pay what he did the same way. Thinking in a religious way, like Daniel says I am also in favor of death penalty because God is in favor of it, and He is the creator. This is difficult because I should need to be in the situation, but I think that people should not suffer that way, that is very cruel and mean, if they are going to kill them they should just do it and not put them on a death row. No one deserves such a bad torture, they should try to handle it in a different way. I do think death row inmates pass through a severe anguish, just imagine being there for many days or even years waiting for your death. This is something really bad, they don't need to suffer that kind of torture if they are going to die anyways. I believe that some of them get crazy o even suicide because that is a very strong and torture and hard to live in. I preferred to die the first day than live that such agony. My definition of torture is any act that causes pain or suffering to third persons. I can't believe how people have the strenght to do such bad things. I believe that being in a deth row is definitely a mental torture because they are trapped in this small room just waiting for their time to die. It can also be a physical torture but I think is not that harmful as the mental torture because the mind is the stronger in this situation because they are alone most of the time thinking and thinking so this affects more. I think that being on a death row does violates the person's human rights because being their they have no right at all and also no dignity. First of all they lose one of the principal right that is the right to live.
ReplyDeleteFor the questions i do think that the death row is a way of making a person suffer mentally because you have him right there in a room jut waiting for the moment so it does constitute torture.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of torture is making someone suffer. Thats it, anybody who makes someone feel physically or mentally bad thats torture.
So if we stop and think that having someone on death row it does take away the persons dignity and it violates its own rights
I think this is something very important for us because it’s a theme with many controversial. First of all I think that the death row inmates are suffering of anguish while they are being treated with torture. They experienced this feeling because this treatment can affect a human being in a mentally way because this isn’t something normal in our daily life and we are also not get used to that way of life.
ReplyDeleteI considered that this way of treating someone else is a way of torture because of the fat that they make suffer to someone else but in a very hard way and also this can pass to secondary effects by the fact that they could become crazy or mentally damaged. I also feel and think that the people that treat someone else in this way don’t have any consideration neither a moral way of thinking because of the fact that any “normal” human being can make this kind of treatments to others. My definition for torture is the wrong treatment to persons by the fact that they get affected physically and mentally illed. Acts that have sever consequences of pain and suffering that are intentionally made on another person.
I also believe that being on a death row can affect a person on both ways mentally and physically, because they can be suffering a lot because they don’t have the liberty they deserve neither a way of defending themselves. As I have mentioned this intentionally treatments can affect a lot the persons because isn’t a normal way of living.
And of course this people are losing their dignity and worth because they can’t do anything when they are in that situation because they would be more exposed of being miss treated. And also they are violating their human rights because in the Human Rights Declaration it is said that all human have the right to live, that we shouldn’t be tortured by someone else, and we have many rights in which we can defend ourselves of not being tortured.
By, Lupita Monge
By CynthiaBuelna de Castellanos :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I think that death penalty is a very difficult theme because I am of the idea that we all came to the world to live our life and no matter what we all disserve to live. But, I also think that if someone made a death crime is someone without heart that should pay for the crime he or she made but, I think that there are many other ways of punishing this criminals. Death row inmates suffer of many damages and one of is mental anguish. It is more than obvious that all this victims suffer of it because before they kill them, they torture them and they are waiting for their moment. I do not understand why they put them in small rooms and torture them, they are causing more damages that at the end they will end in the same point.
Torture for me, means making physical, emotional and mental damages. I define torture like this because all they are doing while torturing persons is about hitting them, in other words they make them insane people. So as I said, being torture or being in death row is mental, physical and emotional damages because the persons that live it are just suffering and suffering and everything for what? Just to kill them. Mental damages because they are constantly thinking in what is next, they are always expecting when everything is going to end and all that. Physical damage because they hit them, and everything is about bleeding, taking out parts of their body an all those things.
I definetly think that putting someone into death penalty is to violate thir human rigths because they are taking their rigth to life, we are nobody to judge people, we have a God that is the one who is going to decide what is better for this person, he is the only one that is perfect in this world, we aren´t perfect we are humans and we all make mistakes.
Daniel in my own opinion of your point of view I think that by any way people should be treated with torture becuase we all have the right of being respected by all even though we are black, white, Americans or Africans.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of being in prision is a big punsihment and when you are being tortured you lose all of your rights.
Lupita Monge
Ana I completely agree with you becasue we don't deserve to be tortured by any fact even though that person deserve it. And that it's worst when someone is exposed to torture and then they are bieng killed. We definitely need to be in the place of others to see what we can feel or what we are bieng exposed to.
ReplyDeleteLupita Monge
Ana, I agree with you but, not totally.
ReplyDeleteI agree because I am also against torture, I don´t understand why they do it if they are just waiting for their time to die.
What I do not agree is that God agrees with death penalty. We are all humans and we can make many mistakes, maybe some of them are worst than others but, still we are all humans and I can´t understand why some persons take the title of punishing others if they aren´t perfect, we can´t know why this person did the crime and it can be many reasons.
Even though one of my family members was in the situation or if I was the victim I think I´ll be against of it because putting to someone in death penalty is like wanting to have a revenge.
by cynthiabuelna de castellanos!! :)
it is difficult to have a discusion about this because it is hard to talk about this and give a special opinion. I could say that I agree with all of you because all your arguments are correct. With the one that I do not agree totally is with Daniel because you are definitely in favor with death penalty, and I think that we need to be in the situation and think more about it. No one is perfect.
ReplyDeleteby AnaLeyva
ReplyDeleteI know that no one is perfect, but you know, you can't treat a person who sacrifice his life working in an honest way to sustain his family, the same way as a serial killer, or kidnapper. We can all agree that it is not fair treating does two different persons the same way. And trying to be nice with people that aren't nice, or trying to be good with people that aren,t good, lead us to what Mexico is living know a days. Mexico is so full of crime that we are no longer safe. The mentality that we all are the same and need to be treated the same way, has lead Mexico to a chaos, where inocent people are being killed and the criminal are on free on the streets or in jail enjoying of a hotel paid by Mexican citizens and doing business over there. And does matter the argument you put, I will never support an assesing nor a kidnapper, and I will never contradict try to be more good than what God is, we just need to look around to see the consecuence of our wrong decision.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, if you don't think that God agrees with death penalty, just take a look to the bible and you'll see.
ReplyDeleteI don't think death penalty is difficult theme, it is just that we have make it so difficult.
And just for the record, Im not on favor of torture.
Well, I do agree with that Daniel the fact that a serial criminal and a hard worker shouldn't be treated the same way but they are different punishments for everything and they don't have to go directly with torture even though they diserve it because it's not correctly becasue of the fact that everyone have their own rights.
ReplyDeleteLupita
I think that we shouldn't treat others in a way we don't want them to treat me. This is that we don't need to kill because they kill. For me it is difficult, I don't have strong or bad feelings to think in such a strong way. Daniel, you have your point so I don't dissagree totally, we all have our own point of view and no one should judge us and everyone should respect it.
ReplyDeleteAna Leyva
Lupita I also agree with you I don't understand why they chose to torture.
ReplyDeleteAna Leyva
just to clarify, I don't mean that the point of view of any of you is wrong, Im just generalizating. We have this political parties who want some change and they are proposing the death penalty,but in general, most people is against it. What I find curios is that people is against it just when non of their family is being touch, but don't touch their sons, their parents,because they will start screaming desperate for a death penalty. I do think that to drastic problems, we need to use drastic solutions, if we want change, we need start changing. And again I have to say that I am not in favor of torture, because lupita keep on thinking that :)
ReplyDeleteI have just remember a law on life that always is follow: "cada quien consecha lo que sembro." If you sow love, you will reap love, but if you sow death, what do you think you will reap? This is a law establish by God in the bible, so I think it speaks by itself.
ReplyDelete