Do you believe death penalty brings closure to victims' familes, friends?

[prolesunited]

Poll question: Do you believe death penalty brings closure to victims' familes, friends?

If no, why doesn't it bring closure? How do they find closure?

If yes, how does it bring them peace? Is that the state's responsibility?

[tk2kewl]

1. I don't think it would help me any

but who am I to guess what is in someone else's heart/mind. I think LWOP is appropriate for murder.

[arwalden]

16. LWOP?

[tk2kewl]

17. Life w/o parole

[arwalden]

19. Thanks! -- TPO Acronyms IRGOOH. Don't You Think?

I often WW people JDTOTW instead of MUA that MTMLLC. I mean... CO! How much MDCIB to MAMR to the MOR?

OW! TLIG!

[tk2kewl]

22. LOL

[WI_DEM]

2. I can't speak for others, but how does it bring closure?

your loved one is still dead. I think a worst punishment would be life without parole and having to deal day after day with the consequences of your actions.

[Stand and Fight]

6. Precisely.

See my post below.

[leesa]

3. It's called REVENGE.

[Stand and Fight]

8. Revenge?

Just what do you mean by that? Do you advocate the death penalty? Because if you do, let me assure you that it does not attribute to one feeling "inner peace" at the murder -- you may call it revenge or dress it up as justice -- of another human being. Yes, they did a monstrous thing, but the foundation of my Christian beliefs speak contrary to that. Revenge is not the answer. Period. I know this for a fact from personal experience.

[sam sarrha]

4. Quote by the Dalai Lama, "A negative thought contenues and increases

exponentionally until replaced by a positive thought, however the positive thought must be cultivated".

hate and delight in anothers suffering might feel good, but it leads to no benificial end.

[Stand and Fight]

5. No.

It doesn't bring closure. Trust me... I have personal experience.

My mother was murdered two years ago. The use of the death penalty would not heal the pain I feel inside every day, but the Las Vegas Metropolitan P.D. doing their job would help. The death penalty neither defers nor discourages murderers, and therefore it serves no purpose on those grounds. Furthermore, it serves no purpose because it would not bring my mother back and the only way to bring myself peace is through meditation and prayer. The killing of someone else's son, daughter, mother, father, aunt, uncle, or cousin is not going to bring me or them one iota of inner peace.

[ArkDem]

7. It brings closure to the perpetrator.....

[Stand and Fight]

10. Bullshit.

Death is not closure. It's an escape from facing reality.

[ArkDem]

23. Well they won't kill again.

[Solly Mack]

9. revenge is never satisfied because it's never based on justice

fairness or closure.

It's based on griefs you nurse. The pain that causes you to lash out. People want to know "why" and when the answer, or non-answer, isn't good enough(and it never will be good enough), they want others to "feel the same kind of pain"...which isn't healing in the least bit and for damn sure ain't closure. It's just revenge.

[sybylla]

11. Not having been in that position, it's hard to speak to it

But from what I've observed, the families of victims seem to be looking for any salve for the pain. At the time, many of them seem to think killing the bad guy will make them feel better, but I have grave doubts. Over time they will have to come to terms with their loss on their own. There are no magic pills for grieving and there are no band-aids for the pain and injustice these people feel.

Personally, if I was in the situation of having lost a loved one to a heinous crime punishable by death, I would think I was cheated by the death penalty. These people deserve to spend the rest of their days in a small room with a rather large and angry roommate being subjected to everything the penal system will allow them to be subjected to. Perpetual fear of the kind they likely inflicted on their victims is the least of what they deserve.

[Stand and Fight]

12. You're right in your doubts. Trust me. n/t

I wholeheartedly agree that they should be forced to think about their crimes and to reckon with their monstrous actions. Death is a release from the very harsh reality of the consequences of their actions.

[noamnety]

13. It's not relevant

The state shouldn't be killing some people to make other people feel good.

[prolesunited]

14. I would be interested in hearing the views

of the people who think it would bring closure.

[readmylips]

15. Death, Divorce, Racism, Abuse. Emotions so strong....

there's never closure or erasing them. We can only bury them deep in our sub conscience mind. Our brains are computers that store all the emotions in layers as we travel through life, and they can resurface at a blink of an eye.

The death penalty can satisfy revenge or the fact the a killer can never appear in person before you, but he will always appear in dreams and in thoughts as long as you live.

[AlCzervik]

18. I don't really know

i think i'd rather have the perp rotting away in prison being miserable.

[murray hill farm]

20. i think the death penalty is outragous..uncivilized..unholy..u name it

but once years ago..when i lived in the upper penn of michigan, there was a case of a man..mentally ill i am sure...who brutally tortured his very young son..on going..over time..until he finally killed him...at the time, i remember being horrified at my own reaction..that of wanting to pull the switch on him myself.

[placton]

21. There actually was a study done

on this, which shows "no closure" really occurs. I think it was in Slate. Another right wing lie.

[Cuban_Liberal]

24. My s/o's parents were murdered, and he opposes the DP.

To paraphrase him, "If executing the men who killed my parents could restore them to me for so much as 5 minutes, I would spring the gallows' trap door myself; since it cannot do so, please do not defile my parents' graves with a blood offering."

[youngred]

25. I would say it depends on the family

but that that isn't a reason to execute and that being locked up for life would be an equal amount of closure.

Thanks for your continued activism on this topic!