The Death Penalty

[Chapuunka]

I'm supposed to give a 2-3 minute persuasive speech on a political issue for school, and I've chosen the death penalty. I've got my points, and I want to see if any of you clever people see any fallacies I should fix.

To clarify, I'm speaking of capital punishment in the US. Feel free to debate amongst yourselves about the laws in other countries, but that's what my argument is for.


Stance: pro-death penalty; specifically, it should be legal but felons should get the choice between death and life imprisonment. Only to be used for serious felonies such as murder.

Points:
- ethically correct (biblically)
- humane
- cost-effective (vs life imprisonment)
- deters future criminals
- past precedents and other history support it


Arguments against:
- screw the Bible/Christianity!
America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

- killing people is inhumane!
Most states use a method of lethal injection that is created to be painless

- killing people is unethical!
The Bible clearly states in Leviticus 24:17 that "Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death." The Christian God also killed many unrighteous people (ex. Sodom & Gomorrah).

- doesn't actually deter other criminals!
A study was preformed in 1973 by Isaac Ehrlich that showed for every inmate executed, 7 lives were saved because of criminals unwilling to face the consequences

- it's hypocritical--you're killing people too!
The law is against people murdering other people. Dictionary.com defines murder as, "to kill or slaughter inhumanly or barbarously," but it defines kill as, "to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay."

- screw precedents and history; this is now!
Much of our law is based upon precedents passed in past court cases, and you know what they say about history repeating itself.


How I'm going to get this through in 2-3 minutes is beyond me, but we'll see.

 

[koreancuber]

take out the biblical arguments. I'm pretty sure many people will get offended by it.

 

[Kirjava]

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

 

[Chapuunka]

take out the biblical arguments. I'm pretty sure many people will get offended by it.

1. I don't really care.
2. http://bible.cc/galatians/1-10.htm

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure most of the founding fathers were some form of Christian, and a lot of the basic laws follow plenty of Christian teachings.

 

[koreancuber]

i've seen my friend get a referral from that.

 

[EVH]

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

"We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are equal and the are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
-D of I

Not necessarily God but with christian principles all throughout the Constitution. I know it says creator and not God but still.

anyway maybe talk about Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia. Two capital punishment cases one ruled it unconstitutional in some ways and the other ruled in constitutional. And the 8th Amendment as well.

 

[shelley]

The Bible is not the single authoritative source of what is and isn't ethical. And it seems kind of silly that a Christian nation would allow its citizens freedom of religion and value separation of church and state, wouldn't you think?

Take out all the biblical arguments. They're not relevant. If you want to cite the Bible and Christian values when arguing about the death penalty, does that mean your arguments don't apply to Muslim and Buddhist convicts?

 

[EVH]

The Bible is not the single authoritative source of what is and isn't ethical. And it seems kind of silly that a Christian nation would allow its citizens freedom of religion and value separation of church and state, wouldn't you think?

Take out all the biblical arguments. They're not relevant.

Yes this is true, I am a Christian but the Bible isn't that relevant to this.

 

[Feryll]

inb4 GIANT FLAMES OF WAR!!

 

[Tortin]

take out the biblical arguments. I'm pretty sure many people will get offended by it.

1. I don't really care.
2. http://bible.cc/galatians/1-10.htm

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure most of the founding fathers were some form of Christian, and a lot of the basic laws follow plenty of Christian teachings.

Wrong and wrong. Most of the founding fathers were deist or ambivalent. And what christian teachings, exactly?
take out the stuff about the bible. Completely irrelevant.

 

[Ranzha]

Did this really deserve a thread? Also, why would speedsolvers with different religions be of any help?
My real advice to you is that you can do your own work. Our input won't help much if it comes at a different stance upon the subject than you have. That's why you are persuading us to agree with you.

Also, the "Christian God" is also the god of the Jews and of Islam through the Old Testament, from what I have been told. Considering Genesis, the first book, containing the Sodom and Gomorrah story, is in the Old Testament, it is not just the "Christian God" that did that, as the followers of the aforementioned religions believe.

 

[Neo63]

The Bible is not the single authoritative source of what is and isn't ethical. And it seems kind of silly that a Christian nation would allow its citizens freedom of religion and value separation of church and state, wouldn't you think?

Take out all the biblical arguments. They're not relevant. If you want to cite the Bible and Christian values when arguing about the death penalty, does that mean your arguments don't apply to Muslim and Buddhist convicts?

This. I don't see how Christianity has anything to do with this, so what if the Bible is pro-death penalty? Basing the constitution of a country on a religion is ridiculous.

 

[Chapuunka]

Yes this is true, I am a Christian but the Bible isn't that relevant to this.

Have you read the Bible...?

The Bible is not the single authoritative source of what is and isn't ethical.

I'm not saying it is; but in a nation that was founded on basically Christian principals and with a huge percentage of its population calling themselves Christians it's a very relevant source.

 

[EVH]

take out the biblical arguments. I'm pretty sure many people will get offended by it.

1. I don't really care.
2. http://bible.cc/galatians/1-10.htm

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure most of the founding fathers were some form of Christian, and a lot of the basic laws follow plenty of Christian teachings.

Wrong and wrong. Most of the founding fathers were deist or ambivalent. And what christian teachings, exactly?
take out the stuff about the bible. Completely irrelevant.

Episcopalian/Anglican 32 57.1%
Congregationalist 13 23.2%
Presbyterian 12 21.4%
Quaker 2 3.6%
Unitarian or Universalist 2 3.6%
Catholic 1 1.8%
TOTAL 56 100%

Source:http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html

Thomas Jefferson was a Deist. I cannot think of any others.

 

[Kirjava]

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

I'm pretty sure most of the founding fathers were some form of Christian

You are incorrect then.

a lot of the basic laws follow plenty of Christian teachings.

Christianity didn't invent the idea of not killing people.

 

[CubesOfTheWorld]

Ya'll just trollin'.

 

[abr71310]

America was founded as a Christian nation (under God)

I've often heard that this is incorrect.

It is.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Ben Franklin (all either Presidents or those with LOTS of power) were NOT Christian and absolutely despised the fact that people believed that.

Look on Google for exact quotes.

 

[EVH]

Christianity didn't invent the idea of not killing people.

Actually this holds true to Christians. The first murder was Cain killing Abel. God punished Abel for this proving that it was wrong.

 

[abr71310]

Ya'll just trollin'.

Stop talking, you ignorant moron.

 

[Neo63]

The Bible is not the single authoritative source of what is and isn't ethical.

I'm not saying it is; but in a nation that was founded on basically Christian principals and with a huge percentage of its population calling themselves Christians it's a very relevant source.

Did you not realize that there are Americans who do not believe in Christianity?

EDIT: How a nation was founded should not affect how the laws are made today. Things change, and ideas change.