The Death Penalty is a form of torture
The cruelty of torture is evident. Like torture, an execution constitutes an extreme physical and mental assault on a person already rendered helpless by government authorities. Abolitionist groups claim that the cruelty of the death penalty is manifest not only in the execution but in the time spent under sentence of death, during which the prisoner is constantly contemplating his or her own death at the hands of the state. Prison is an extraordinarily severe punishment that should not be exacerbated with torture or the death penalty.
Torture Defined
Torture of prisoners violates the Eight Amendment’s provision against Cruel and Unusual Punishment, and also constitutes a violation of several international laws. The United Nations Convention on Torture defined torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
An example of torture in the US Criminal Justice System
In May 1998, a lawsuit was filed concerning conditions for death row inmates in Idaho Maximum Security Institution. The suit states that inmates are held in solitary confinement for 163 of every week's 168 hours in small concrete and steel cells with solid metal doors and a narrow slit for a window. Inmates are allowed out of their cells for a maximum of one hour a day, excluding weekends, for recreation, alone and handcuffed in one of 12 enclosed wire mesh pens measuring approximately seven by 15 feet. The prisoner named in the lawsuit, Randy McKinney, states that he has lived under such a regime for 16 years, and that such treatment constitutes torture.
Well, of course its torture that's ovious, but lets talk about justice, is it justice that we do something without having any consequences either there are bad or good consequences? For example, if a serial killer wouldn't have any punishments for his mess. Should its correct to leave him keep going that way? The jail its supposedly for people to correct themselves but oviously when the state gives people 20 years of jail, people have lost almost the resting part of their lifes. And in death penalty I think that isn't correct because we are all humans and deserve second chances and the forgiveness of God, our relatives and society.
ReplyDelete1. Do you think that death row inmates are experiencing mental anguish?
ReplyDelete2. Does the situation constitute torture?
3. What is your definition of torture?
4. Do you believe that being on death row is a form of physical or mental torture? Why or why not?
5. Does being on death row strip people of their human dignity and worth, and therefore violate their human rights?
1. Of course, because they get traumatized and get more sick and damaged mentally by time.
ReplyDelete2. Depends of the crime, and not exceed to death penalty.
3. Torture is a punishment in consequence of a bad or accidentally doned cause.
4. Yes, because people just by knowing that they would be killed, its something sick. Imagine knowing that you'll get killed soon, the resignation that the people needed to have its amazing.
5. Yes, the state takeout their dignity as human beings and its a total violation of HR because even though they have had done wrong in the past they are still human beings and have the same involuntary rights since the day they are born.
I think that death penalty is torture for a person, not only because they are taking their life away, but for the time they have them prisioners, knowing that they will take them their life away. It is very cruel to have a person like that, but there also are persons that commit crimes that I sincerly dont explain myself why someone does cruel stuff like killing a lot of people just because they felt like it. But i also think that it is very dangerous to apply the death penalty because they'd have to be really sure that that person in fact is the guilty one.
ReplyDelete1. I do think that death row inmates are experiencing mental anguish because since they put them there, the immates know that they are going to die, and there doing nothing the only thing then have left for them is to wait till they kill them.
2. I do think that the situation constitutes torture, in a mental way, because imagine being in their situation, I think that they obsses with it, but still to some of the immates it they would feel bad, like their victims.
3. For me torutre is damaging a person in a physical or mental way, because of something that the person did, or to get something from that person.
4. Mental, because I think no one would like to sit there useless without their freedom, on a tiny cell with no one.
5. I do think that they take away their dignity and human rights, but they took them away from others before.
BY: STEPHANIEE CELIS
I think that, indeed, it is a form of torture but i guess that many of the guys that pass to the death penalty are because they do something really bad and to do something really bad is because your crazy and these kind of people don´t appreciate life. But anyway it is a form of torture but i do agree with it, whenever it is applied to a bad guy!
ReplyDelete1.Yes because they obiously don´t want to die.
2.Yes but I think that if is applied to a crimminal is OK.
3.Torture for me is causing any type of pain to a human being.
4.Yes because is making the victim suffer.
5.No it does not strip out human dignity but I think that even though being there is violating a human right, I think justice have to be done, even though is "an eye for eye" type of justice.
I think that tortures is really bad, but in some cases, for example, being in jail is a type of torture, but is only to people that have violated the rights of other people. So, they diserve to be punished like these, but persons that haven't do anything bad do not deserve to be punished with torture.
ReplyDelete1.Yes, because they don't stop thinking about what they do and what is the death they are expecting.
2. Well it depends, if the crime is really bad they deserve it, but if it isn't, is obvious that they don't.
3. I define torture as any physical or mental damage.
4. Yes, because they suffer when they think that they are going to die alone in a jail.
5. Yes they do, but they deserve it, because they have to think before doing things, knowing everything has a consequence.
I think it is pretty sad that people has to be going through this kind of stuff! I know that society needs and gets their way to punish those who have done anything wrong against law. I know it is needed to try to make people follow the rules and so, but sometimes I think it is just really cruel, I guess being forever in jail is the best punishment of all, in some cases I guess they might think of what they have done, and regret for life, in some ohter well humm, people is way crazy! sometimes for some death penalty are just a big relief or a way to rest I guess.
ReplyDeleteI guess they do experience it, well hum this people know when and how they are gonna die and why they will, you know, they MAY BE might be, praying or regreting, they are loosing their lives for an stupid action!
I think that the "best" torture might be mental stuff! have not you heard of a guy that "bleed" to dead cause he was told he was bleeding, he was not .. anyways 8-) it was a cruel experiment!
to make people go through physical, mental or emotional agression, either being hit or told a bunch of stories .. that might harm them in a penful way!
absolutely! cause you will know when how and why you are dying!
They do lost all of that, but they lost it because they have taken away someones life first! so I guess it is an exchange