Originally Posted by Twilight

Actually, the United States is NOT in the "deepest hole" as far as debt concerns go. The US is actually 14th in line.

Originally Posted by Twilight

I would like to bring up capital punishment as well as juvenile convictions as adults.

Should capital punishment still be allowed in the United States?
Bear in mind that the US is the ONLY nation in the world still practicing capital punishment. My take is somewhat conservative in viewpoints despite the fact that I am a hardcore liberal Democrat. I believe that capital punishment should be used on all inmates incarcerated for life sentences. More money is spent on one prisoner per year than it takes to send a student to Stanford. This would mean a large cut on the cost of housing inmates that are otherwise just taking up unneeded space.

Should juveniles that have committed heinous crimes be convicted as adults?
My viewpoint on this topic is a bit more liberal, however. I believe that juveniles do not yet have the cogitative development to comprehend their actions and therefore should not have to face adult-like consequences.

Any opinions?

Originally Posted by TempIar

Yes. I have Opinions on this.

Capital Punishment Should be allowed, everywhere. Honest to god, If you murder someone with malicious intent, you deserve to be killed yourself, providing that it wasn't an extraneous circumstance. There are always gonna be exceptions, and those need to be figured out, but damn.

I think juveniles are capable of reasoning as adults from the age of 15 on. They should be tried as such anytime after that age.

Originally Posted by Wight

I don't think there will ever be a workable set of criteria with which to justify killing someone, provided that you've a moral issue here. If you've some way of justifying the possible murder of innocent people (or those with extraneous circumstances), for a practice which does not actually provide a "fair" outcome for anyone, let me know.

In terms of practicality, I agree that capital punishment should be allowed, and in fact, encouraged, everywhere. It is necessary, not as a "fair" punishment (as, again, it doesn't solve any moral/ethical problems), but due to the fact that the resources used to keep prisoners alive would be better used for other purposes. Similarly, the waiting time on death row should be shortened, by simplifying the appeals procedure. Some would agree that it is much more cruel to subject someone to the experience of being on death row rather than killing them.

Originally Posted by TempIar

Murder Is always wrong. I wasn't very clear on that. But there is a distinct difference between the act of Murdering someone and the act of killing someone. Murder happens in cold blood, with no legitimate reasoning behind the act. Killing can have a justifiable reasoning behind the act, and deserves a better explanation than the one I'm giving it now, and a better defining area of what is acceptable should be found.

The goddamn youth of today are way to immature for their age. In ancient Rome, once you hit 14, you were an adult. That meant that you were tried and convicted as such. If people that long ago had the capacity to reason as adults at that age back then, I don't see why they couldn't do so now. And granted, there are differences that come with the times, but I don't find any of those convincing enough to sway my argument. Grow Up and Stop being a twat, You're a man now.

^That's what I would like to say. But there is one difference that is concerning to me, and that is the amount of responsibility given to children of then and now. back then, there was a chance you were head of the household at the age of 8. Now, you don't even have to take out the garbage until you're 10, if you're lucky. The lack of responsibility is what ruins today's youth.

Originally Posted by Toolfree

Manslaughter is a type of murder, and, by definition, manslaughter is not done in cold blood. And there could be legitimate reason for manslaughter to occur, i.e. not taking safety precautions to conserve time or money. Maybe not good, moral reasons, but legitimate reasons none the less. I think you mean 1st and 2nd degree murder.

Originally Posted by Toolfree

Yeah, just remembered that manslaughter is a form of homicide, not murder.

Originally Posted by Wight

Provide adequate reasoning behind an execution, specifically, the methods used today, in the United State of America.