I ended up in a debate in music sxn today stemming from a comment I made saying and I paraphrase “ death sucks even if it’s to a school shooter” which evolved to a much deeper debate regarding the death penalty and retribution.

The thread in its entirety can be read here (with initial comment on pg.8 and closing comment on pg.10 with comments in between, as well:
ktt2.com/bro-please-bring-x-back-man-37333/9#post-2173406

But to save you time I will also post all my original post and the other poster’s responses here.

“ Me: Hate when people try to justify death cause someone made mistakes. I wasn’t the biggest x fan then so I’m not gonna act like I am now, but death to anyone is a sad thing period no matter the circumstance. I don’t care if you a school shooter on death row, loss of life sucks.

Other: you don't think a school shooter should die?

Me: No I do not, I can see why someone would but I don’t think stooping to their level fixes anything. Killing in self defense is one thing, like the shooter is active so you take out the threat, that is justified. But killing a defenseless person with chemicals or other means makes you no better then when they killed defenseless people.
Again I sympathize with the reasoning behind wanting the person dead especially if you lost your son or daughter etc, but stooping to the killers level won’t bring back the dead plus it gives that person the easy way out. They should serve their life in 23 hour lockdown with pictures of their victim always showing in their cell. That’s justice, make them realize their mistake and pay for it for the rest of their life not with the shortening of their life.
A lot of times, the government enforces the death penalty cause they think it will dissuade potential criminals from heinous acts but in reality it hasn’t changed the rate of heinous and if anything it’s increased it in states with death penalty. Knowing that you’ll get the easy way out could encourage you to not care about your actions especially if you were suicidal anyways.
Telling people that we will lock you up for 23 hours a day with no connection to gen pop with constant reminders of your victims I.e. pictures/vids will haunt you and make most wish they were dead. Far more punishing then just killing them. I believe that would do more to dissuade people from heinous acts.
Don’t believe me, well here is an excerpt from my source:
The murder rate in non-death penalty states has remained consistently lower than the rate in states with the death penalty, and the gap has grown since 1990. deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/murder-rates/murder-rate-of-death-penalty-states-compared-to-non-death-penalty-states
So again I do not believe in retribution killing as it not only morally knocks you to the killer’s level, but it also just makes things worse and sends the wrong message no matter how emotionally tied you are.

Other: I don't think killing someone that just massacred others is "stooping" to their level in any way but if you believe that then I'm not gonna bother

Me: How is taking a defenseless life from someone any different from them taking a defenseless life?
Now again, if you are dealing with an active shooter then of course lethal force may be me necessary to prevent them from killing any one else or yourself, so that’s justified of course.
But how does killing them ,when they are defenseless and don’t pose a threat, make you any better then them killing defenseless people that don’t pose a threat. You at that point are literally one in the same.
I sympathize with those who want the killer dead as I can understand why they would especially if you were close to the victim(s), but once you put your emotions to the side and logically and morally think it out, killing a defenseless person not only makes you not better then them but it again sends the wrong message as it has not done anything to prevent future murders as proven by evidence I already presented.
So outside of you emotionally wanting retribution for those who are dead, can you provide any logical reasoning that is supported by evidence that can justify defenseless killing?

Other: It's not emotional retribution. I just don't agree. That's all there is to it.

Me:
See that’s the problem, how can you disagree without showing why? I could respect you disagreeing if you could present unbiased evidence to support your case, much like I have. But until you can logically back up your point, then I cannot take your stance seriously especially since it seems made out of ignorance.
Don’t expect to change your mind since apparently you have yours made up not matter how much logical proof is presented, but know you are wrong nonetheless especially since you have no proof to back up your stance.

Other: lol alright “

So with all this being said where do you stand, do you agree with my sentiment and if you don’t can provide unbiased evidence and a logical argument to support your claim?

*Will be posted in Life and Politics as it pertains to both!

an easier and not as silly as “taking away defenceless person’s life” argument is the fact that wrongful convictions are entirely possible and there’s a strong possibility for the wrong person to get killed. just look at the numerous black men that have been exonerated and the ones that have yet to. very high chance of making a mistake.

death penalty is also much more expensive than keeping a prisoner in prison. it’s also an easier way out; for many people, only anger would be felt if someone killed their loved one and proceeded to kill themselves.

a quick and painless death is ultimately the easiest way out for someone suffering time in prison