There are introduced species in Australia that are vermin....rabbits, foxes, cane toads and arsonists.

Exactly, I got in news today that some US agency is pointing hands of terrorists in the set-fire.

Killing people who kill humanity is not wrong.. Such people can't be mended at all.. because they get rabid... what would you do if your dog gets rabid?

It IS wrong, because killing them is far too quick. Better make them regret it for the rest of their lives... People who kill others for "fun" should be void humane treatment.

Alright then imprisionment for 14 years then hanged...

It should be ok now because they will get enough time to regret and also there will be true justice. Process of killing too would be slow then..14yrs..eh

Its not fair to set them free after several years of jail...

At least to them whose lives were claimed by them. Why justice will favour criminals by saving their lives.. why not the innocents and victims?

Exactly mick! besides.. punishment like that should only be dealt out by a higher power.. and I'm not talking Governments.

Capital punishment is just allowing government to be reduced to the level of the criminals. Government capital punishment is still murder, the person doing it is still a murderer - it is not lessened just because it is sanctioned and deemed legal by a government - look at the mess they do to things as it is without letting them play God.

The innocent family of the murderer also suffer through no fault of their own. Vengeance is meant to be the lowest raison d'etre for punishment, protection of society from the criminals is the number one reason for punishment then rehabilitation of the criminal and restitution comes next. Prisons should follow these guidelines and not end up being universities to teach bigger, better and more successful crimes in a vacation chalet type environment full of mod cons. Work should be the pivotal activity to at least pay back something meaningful and beneficial to society instead of merely surviving in a shallow purposeless way.

So here is the new equation

Claiming 300 lives ~ 300x70 years = 21000 years = 14 years of imprisonment ?

Having a soft-corner towards them will only add to their might.

It was said ealier by our ancestors that.. don't hate the devils, but hate the evils.

With the passage of time, it doesn't remain true now..

The truth is Kill the devils to destroy the evils.

I'll help support the victims...but I'll be damned if I'll allow my taxes to support the killer/s in prison.

regardless of how ever a person wants to justify it, the death penalty is wrong. NO person has the right to take another persons life. To do so reduces us to the same level as the original criminal. While i can understand the feelings of those people who have had their loved ones taken from them and the anger that they would feel.... two wrongs do NOT make a right. Jail them for life. I know i will probably cop a lot of flak for my views but i stand by them.

so jafo, you would rather your taxes support more killing???

Wouldn't cost much....one locked room and a match.....bloody perfect cure for that arson urge/curiosity/infatuation.

Put in perspective....population for population.....this is Australia's 9/11.

The only arguable difference is the lack of planes.

Me, too would support and thats not killing... thats justice and we would support justice...

Not sure how many times the world have to witness 9/11..

That's where compassion and social conscience is needed....not with any arsehole who caused so much misery.

The same logic would say that no person has the right to imprison another person.

Murder is murder, and whomever condems a man to death, is also a murderer, you can word it however you like, and try and gloss it over, but it is STILL.. Murder.. and 2 wrongs don't make a right etc etc.. it's barbaric.

Nobody has the right to play God.. except God [or whomever is in charge up there] himself.

Murderer's belong in prison where they can suffer, and think about what they've done, they'll cop more suffering in prison, than in a quick death.

killing a person who has taken another persons life is not justice it's revenge. I will never support the death penalty as it makes us no better than the perpetrator of the crime in the first place. There has to be an overhaul of the justice system where to get a life sentence means life, not 20 years, not 30 years but life. You get sentenced to life then you die in jail.

at least if these people are jailed they cannot commit anymore crimes against the innocent. justice at the point of a gun might have worked in the 19th century but it has no place in the 21st century.

someone made a point before about the suffering of the family of the person being put to death and i think they make a good point. Why should an innocent family be made to suffer along with the victims family, they didn't do anything wrong.

There are always going to be people out there who get their kicks by causing pain and suffering upon others. The death penalty won't stop this.

Pretty definite way of preventing them from re-offending though....

Excising a cancer isn't 'revenge'....it's 'treatment'.

The thing about capital punishment is if it dissuades just ONE person from a similar crime then it has worked as a deterrent.

The victims of crime ALWAYS have a greater right to life than those who will deny them.

I was going to agree earlier when the electricity went out here.

Right on, Jafo. How can it be considered moral or ethical to ask the families of those killed to pay taxes to keep that scum alive?

And, Lantec...that is not the same logic at all.

Those creatures are intentional mass murderers. Same logic as Hamas/Hizbullah/Al-Qaida...and deserving of the same treatment.

I thought real Doctor's took an oath to preserve life, no matter what.

Everybody should just agree to disagree, this subject.. well nobody wins, it will just go around in circles, nobody is going to change anybody else's mind on the death penalty.. I'll never support it, and that's that.... even though mankind is a vile and treacherous race.

with all due respect jafo, There is no comparison, Excising cancer is treatment for a disease in the hope of saving life. Maybe the people commiting the crimes have a disease to. How many people with mental disorders have been put to death?. Does a person with a disease deserve to die? NO. So someone with a genuine mental disorder who commits a horrible crime because they don't know what they are doing, do they deserve to die? NO. they need treatment. I am not trying to take anything away from those who are so horribly affected by violent crime, they deserve justice. Putting a person to death is NOT justice. It's murder, whether it be sanctioned by the state or not. Put yourself in the shoes of someone with a child who has a undiagnosed mental disorder and they commit a terrible crime and while in jail awaiting trial he/she is diagnosed with the disease and really didn't know or understand what they were doing. Would you approve of them being put to death? I don't think so. Would you want them to get whatever treatment they needed to make them well again. And if this treatment would mean they would lead a normal life with no repeat criminal behaviour would you support that? I think you would.

Yes there are horrible people out there who are perfectly sane who commit horrible crimes and those people need to be locked away for ever. But on the same foot there has to be a limit to the extremes we will go to for justice to be served. We DO NOT have the right to end anyones life but we do have the right to put these people in a place where they can never commit a crime again. While jail is not perfect, we as human beings are not perfect but it's the best we can do at this time. To lower ourselves to this eye for an eye stupidity only makes us more barbaric.