Now using imagination Supposed the closest to the victims will get the final say about death penalty or not and perhaps they should be the ones to press the button (or not). If so, what would be the impact in the lives of the closest members if they chose to execute or not? Their whole family would be split, some against - some for execution. Anyway that member who carries out the execution would be an outsider for the rest of his/her life. Why? - He/she has put to death someone, no matter what reason. Years later the emotions are gone and the murder he/she commited still remains. Now, think about it. The first reaction (even myself) is to execute that person. But when I think further, considering all the impacts it makes, I surely go away from my emotional temptations I had before. If a government carries out the execution it automatically becomes an outsider for obvious reasons, but not as visible and strongly felt as if it were yourself.
You guys have a good point. I did contradict myself there a bit. What do you guys think should be a proper punishment for someone who murders someone else?
I think it depends on the circumstances. If you come home and murder some guy you find banging your wife that's a little different than going out and killing a child you don't know. If you're provoked into an emotional attack rather than committing an unprovoked murder there's a big difference. Was it planned out and premeditated or spur of the moment? Obviously in most all cases the person needs to be locked up for life. Or at least until they will no longer be a threat to society. Basically is this the kind of person that likes to murder or the kind of person who fell into the wrong situation and won't have the motivation to do it again.
It seems your reasoning is that the family has a right to avenge the dead person and kill the murderer and that is all that is necessary to be for death punishment. Let's assume for a minute that some one gets executed by mistake for a crime that they did not commit, doesn't this mean that this person family has an automatic right to kill some one for his murder? In this case who should his family be able to execute, The jury, the prosecutor, the judge or the person who pushed the switch?
which is worse to have someone you love killed and their killer spending life in jail instead of being executed or having someone you love executed by the state for a crime they didn't commit