We kill people who kill people
To show people that killing people is wrong.

......

should we blind people that blind other people then ? You get the odd case of acid being thrown in peoples faces or them losing sight after becoming involved in a bar fight and a glass gets broken on them. In these cases, from within the justice system, should be pour acid in their eyes to deter people from doing it ?

Has to be the most ridiculous statement you've made on this forum. Normally your statements are rather insightful...how do you come up with such drivel? Are you claiming that somehow the death penalty propagates more violence? That serious punishment for serious crimes somehow makes us culturally violent? Are we somehow more violent that other societies due to the fact that we have guns? You come from the UK where people beat and kill others soley based on what football team they follow (with bricks, bottles, knives, flares - personally, I find this to be more violent than a gun), a place where intelligent, capable persons are moving away in droves to keep their children from such violence... do you consider it culturally violent? You also hail from S.A. where people live in compounds and have Rotties and Staffies to protect their families, a place where the police are hunted, culturally violent? Not sure about the death penalty in SA, however, it does not exist in the UK yet I hear stories in the UK news nearly everyday involving violent crime, what gives? BTW, per 100k persons, homicide rates US=6.5, Europe=5.4 not much difference. Gun crime is most certainly one of the highest in the world, however, part of that is due to access to weapons and part is due to levels of poverty that most people will never witness in person and therefore never understand the desparation that can lead one to a life of crime. Sure there are some screwed up nutters in other social classes that commit violent crime, but the majority of gun-related crime is comitted by the poorest of the poor. I propose that drugs and fiscal desperation are the leading affect of violent crime in the US, not some cultural propensity towards it in general.

No, you need a proper, humane deterrant...I suggest the death penalty.

Forgiveness is a choice not really a reaction. Sometimes we need to forgive to move on and what the victim did is such an act of kindness, having said that, the criminal has also to pay society for his crimes, and unfortunately the law has to protect the innocent against such heinous crimes...

Firstly, I apologise. I didn't mean to offend Americans. Clearly not all Americans are violent. If you're American, I'm sure you're a regular hippy. Drugs and fiscal desperation and the corporatist/capitalist paradigm and guns and the American Dream and the Almighty Dollar are all cultural and all linked.

You almost got a 'groan' here because, I thought obviously, quite the opposite is implied by that expression

No, the death penalty is the majoor punishment for people who can and will not change, like serial criminals be it killers, I wish it were applied for rapist and child molestors...it should be used to rid society of a threat...that is my humble opinion though

By the way, if you have read the article, you will have noticed that Mr Bhuiyan is a Muslim.

Next time somebody on this forum decides to bang on about "the Muslims" being unforgiving and vengeful and barbaric, I shall provide a link back to this thread.

It's only fair, after all.

What about motorway speeders? The "25km/h over crew"? They're just murderers waiting to happen.

I'm completely on your side with this. It takes great effort to forgive, but it's definitely worth the time and energy and emotions involved.

I have forgiven - after a long time though - those close persons who have hurt me deeply. And I was also forgiven by others.

We speak here of small human things, definitely not murder. But yes, it's possible and everyone should try it at least once in life.

Most religion have a forgiveness written on their flag. I guess it's a key factor for a humanistic well being.

Some people call the act of that man running around to save his shooter naive. I personally am humbled by his actions, and shows me the strength of his faith, that has guided him through this.

There are bad apples in every religion - christianity, islam - and what have yous. You have the extremists who blow up buildings, the paedophiles who hide behind their "faith" and abuse their authority as members of the church - which is why whilst I respect people of strong faith, I am always sceptical of any religion.

Coming from a country which is very free with the death penalty especially for drug traffickers, I used to think that its a great deterrent. But same with drug traffickers, for everyone one of these nutters fried or executed, there are ten others who have guns in their homes, with the same prejudices who will probably do the same when pushed. What does executing this man really achieve but to satisfy your thirst for revenge?

We now live in a very different world to the one in which the death penalty may once have been relevant. Or even effective. Time has had a most salutary effect on how we think about criminal behaviour, of punishment, rehabilitation and retribution.

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Remember when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown, BUT it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and b****-slap the mother-f***er upside the head.

I guess everybody kind of enjoys being the judge of somebody else.

Sorry man, but this is pretty much bulls**t from my point of view. Simply because this would apply for example to all wars US and its friends have done/are doing now. Vietnam - 2 million civil causalities, mostly by US bombing. First, second Iraq, Afghanistan, etc... hundrets of thousands of innocent kills, just few guilty. To me there is no difference if there is average John Doe in US uniform holding his M-16 and killing kids, or... this guy.
Wars are very specifically planned, expected number of army & civil casualities are estimated etc. Do You think any of the architects will ever even face a jail? LOL
If You say such things about this, what do You say to any veteran eye to eye that is coming home? I seriously doubt words like that...

Yes, I'd say so because the government is condoning violence by using it against others.

I hail from the US, lived in Switzerland for years and now live in the UK. On the borders of a notorious crime area of Manchester.

Guns are hard to come by here, you can't go to the local ASDA (the UK WalMart) and buy a gun or ammunition. Obtaining a gun is a seedy experience with hardened criminals.

Even the average police here don't carry guns. Only specialist armed units do, and they don't patrol the streets with them.

The football issues you mention are not a daily occurrence here.

I see many intelligent, capable Brits staying put. Americans don't move as much because it isn't as easy for them (and other reasons).

Source?

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Its ok - you're forgiven my child. Go in peace

(and I am not even American)

I thought it was the 53rd state after Israel and Taiwan.