@Begin
@Participants:	NS001
@Age:	46
@Sex:	M
@L1:	AmE
@FatherL1:	AmE
@MotherL1:	AmE
@AcademicBakground:	MA
@OtherLanguage:	none==;none==
@Topic:	death penalty
@WritingProficiency:	
@Comments:	NoTitle
@Coder:	2006-10-28 DataInputBy MURAO Remi;
@Version:	2.0
*NS001:	Why I Support The Death Penalty
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*NS001:	I support the death penalty.
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*NS001:	However, I think it should only be given to murderers or those who physically torture other people to such an extent that they are permanently crippled.
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*NS001:	I strongly believe in the clear, basic principle of "eye-for-an-eye" biblical justice.
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*NS001:	If someone deprives another person of their life through an act of premeditated murder, then they forfeit their own right to live as well.
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*NS001:	Of course this principle would not apply to those who kill someone accidentally or commit murder because they are suffering from mental illness.
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*NS001:	In these cases a lesser punishment should be applied.
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*NS001:	And it goes without saying that those who kill in self defence should not be punished at all.
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*NS001:	A second justification for the death penalty is that it is the only way to really guarantee that a murderer will not kill again.
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*NS001:	There have been many, many cases of convicted murderers who have escaped from jail and killed again or murdered other prison inmates.
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*NS001:	If someone is executed right after being convicted that guarantees they will never kill again.
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*NS001:	If it was up to me most people convicted of first degree murder would be executed within 24 hours after being found guilty.
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*NS001:	I also believe that certain economic facters justify the death penalty.
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*NS001:	It costs a lot of money to keep someone in jail.
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*NS001:	Why should the public's precious tax money support murdering monsters who threaten the very existence of our society?
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*NS001:	It is far cheaper, and fairer, to execute them as soon as possible and use our tax money to raise the quality of life for decent law-abiding citizens.
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*NS001:	Not only that.
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*NS001:	I also believe that convicted murders should have some, or all, of their property confiscated and turned over to the families of their victims as compensation for their loss.
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*NS001:	Finally, I think that applying the death penalty gives relatives and friends of murder victims a vitally important sense of closure.
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*NS001:	After the murderer of their loved one is executed they often find it easier to put the tragedy behind them and get on with their lives.
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*NS001:	In a sense, their life is restored to them.
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*NS001:	I sometimes think of a recent criminal case in Japan, in which a man kidnapped a nine year old girl and kept her in his room for nine years.
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*NS001:	By the time the girl was rescued she had already been severely crippled, both physically and mentally.
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*NS001:	Her leg muscles had atrophied from lack of exercise.
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*NS001:	She had received no formal education during her captivity.
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*NS001:	Her social and communication skills had been given no chance to develop.
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*NS001:	On top of that her kidnapper had beaten her and, it is reported, sexually molested her as well.
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*NS001:	As I remember the monster responsible for these terrible crimes received a seven year prison sentence.
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*NS001:	To say this sentence was too light would be an understatement.
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*NS001:	He should have been executed.
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@End