Make Capital Punishment Pay-Per-View
 

So, I'm thinking about capital punishment. It doesn't seem very useful. It doesn't deter crime, and it doesn't save the judicial system money. The only thing that accomplishes is retribution.

But people still want it, so why don't we make it useful? Make capital punishment a pay-per-view event on cable TV. Perform several in an evening, so you can have a ticket. Instead of "Friday Night at the Fights," there could be "Friday Night on Death Row."

I think the idea has merit.

I don't know about Pay-Per-View but I think for the death penalty to be useful (deter crime) it is something that needs to be made public. I certainly don't want to see it, but it is not a deterent if it's done behind closed doors and only talked about.

Re: Make Capital Punishment Pay-Per-View
 

I am completely against capital punishment on religious grounds, so since we're already doing it, I agree with you PhiPsiRuss...let's do it all out.

They let the families of Oklahoma City victims watch Timothy McVeigh die. So apparently if you're connected to the case this is already being done.
That situation only proves your point that the only reason for capital punishment is retribution which I would agree with.

I think my city was going to start showing the pictures of men arrested for buying hookers on t.v. thinking that would stop men from doing it. Funny idea but I'm pretty sure it didn't work.

The last public execution in America (also the first hanging conducted by a woman) drew 20,000 people:

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/...0.hanging2.jpg

My guess is it would be just as popular today.

And if we want we could turn it into Running Man to keep up with today's reality TV shows. :cool:

In a related story, we spent 13 million on the prosecution of co-conspirator Terry Nichols and only managed to get life in prison. For the same crime!

If the difference between life and death sentences is so arbitrary, I don't see how the death penalty can be just.

Dont forget mistakes: capital punishment, unlike other sentences, is hard to undo once it is complete.

England discovered someone was innocent 53 years after they were killed by the state. http://forejustice.org/wc/george_kelly.htm

And: Forensic and Police Experts purposely fudging reports to convict persons. http://www.corpus-delicti.com/forensic_fraud.html

Makes you wonder how many wrongfully accused people have been killed by state governments or sentenced to be killed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99...11wrongman.htm