Televised execution of criminals
 

In a bold move, the TV network FOX decides to televise the execution (by electric chair) of a known terrorist who helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks.

Do you watch it?

edit: follow-up: they showed an execution in The Green Mile, but it was obviously an actor. is it different to you to watch a real person die?

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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In a bold move, the TV network FOX decides to televise the execution (by electric chair) of a known terrorist who helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks.

Do you watch it?

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Hell yea i wanna watch

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

Why not?

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

No, because most likely it would be on Pay Per View. All proceeds go to Katarina victims!

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

Just to explain the existence of this poll...

... my 10th grade history teacher asked this question of the class, and only one girl raised her hand.

As we discussed the matter out loud, it became clear that about half of the class actually would have been interested in watching it, but didn't want to raise their hand in public for fear of looking like a sadist.

I spoke to this girl on the phone today, and I was reminded of the incident.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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No, because most likely it would be on Pay Per View. All proceeds go to Katarina victims!

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vat eez dis Katarina you speak of?

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Why not?

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Why?

I wouldn't watch it for the same reason I don't watch NASCAR racing -- I simply wouldn't have any interest in seeing it.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Just to explain the existence of this poll...

... my 10th grade history teacher asked this question of the class, and only one girl raised her hand.

As we discussed the matter out loud, it became clear that about half of the class actually would have been interested in watching it, but didn't want to raise their hand in public for fear of looking like a sadist.

I spoke to this girl on the phone today, and I was reminded of the incident.

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This girl sounds like fun. YSSCSIIHP

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Why not?

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Why?

I wouldn't watch it for the same reason I don't watch NASCAR racing -- I simply wouldn't have any interest in seeing it.

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I think it would be far more interesting than Nascar.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

No I don't. But if ya drop 'em into a closed ring with hungry tigers I might watch.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

I can think of far worse things on T.V now where as I would consider having public executions to be beneficial.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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anything would be far more interesting than Nascar.

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fyp

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I would consider having public executions to be beneficial.

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

In the case of something like 9/11, I don't see anything wrong with televising an execution. This guy 'executed' thousands of people, and the media televised that for the better part of the last four years.

Tit for tat.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

I don't want to see anyone die

except NASCAR

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I would consider having public executions to be beneficial.

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

In the case of something like 9/11, I don't see anything wrong with televising an execution. This guy 'executed' thousands of people, and the media televised that for the better part of the last four years.

Tit for tat.

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It may also be psychologically beneficial for the families of victims to see.

edit:....or not.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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It may also be psychologically beneficial for the families of victims to see.

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Hmmm, really?

I think that'd just be catering to vindictiveness, which isn't exactly a good thing IMO.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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It may also be psychologically beneficial for the families of victims to see.

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Hmmm, really?

I think that'd just be catering to vindictiveness, which isn't exactly a good thing IMO.

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I think they have a right to feel vindictive in this case, but I was thinking more of some kind of closure for them.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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It may also be psychologically beneficial for the families of victims to see.

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Hmmm, really?

I think that'd just be catering to vindictiveness, which isn't exactly a good thing IMO.

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I think they have a right to feel vindictive in this case, but I was thinking more of some kind of closure for them.

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does closure need to mean vengeance? (serious question)

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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does closure need to mean vengeance? (serious question)

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For me I think it would. I don't feel that vengeance is a bad thing though in general.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

If "Rome" or some kind of sporting event is on, I watch that instead.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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For me I think it would. I don't feel that vengeance is a bad thing though in general.

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In general, I don't either -- but the government sets an awfully strange precedent by catering to the vengeance of certain parties.

what happens when someone rapes your daughter, he gets out of prison in 15 years, and you kill him? Someone messed with Bob, and he got to watch the perp die on national TV. Someone messed with you, and you had to take matters into your own hands?

see what I mean?

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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For me I think it would. I don't feel that vengeance is a bad thing though in general.

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In general, I don't either -- but the government sets an awfully strange precedent by catering to the vengeance of certain parties.

what happens when someone rapes your daughter, he gets out of prison in 15 years, and you kill him? Someone messed with Bob, and he got to watch the perp die on national TV. Someone messed with you, and you had to take matters into your own hands?

see what I mean?

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I'm not saying it's good for society in general, but I'd have no moral qualms about killing someone that raped my daughter.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Do you watch it?

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I dunno. What else is on?

I might watch it. But if there was something else on, like a really good episode of MASH, or maybe a Daniel Baldwin movie, or Win Ben Stein's Money, I'd probably watch that instead.

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I'm not saying it's good for society in general, but I'd have no moral qualms about killing someone that raped my daughter.

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I'd have no problem with them being put to death, but I'd prefer a lifetime of suffering.

And I'd certainly get no joy in watching them die.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

does anyone remember nick berg?? (i think that was his name)

he was the american that was beheaded by terrorists, and they taped and then televised it on al jazeera.. anyway, i saw the video - most brutal, gruesome thing i've ever seen. i felt sick to my stomach the next few days.

i never want to watch another person die again.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I would consider having public executions to be beneficial.

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

In the case of something like 9/11, I don't see anything wrong with televising an execution. This guy 'executed' thousands of people, and the media televised that for the better part of the last four years.

Tit for tat.

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There could be some crime prevention benefits but mostly I meant that I think having the entire judicial process from start to finish open to the public eye is a good thing.

Whereas most of the stuff on MTV for instances has no value and is a bad thing.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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does closure need to mean vengeance? (serious question)

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For me I think it would. I don't feel that vengeance is a bad thing though in general.

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Exactly I'm always baffled why people try to make revenge out to be such a bad thing. IMO revenge is one of the things that makes society possible.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Exactly I'm always baffled why people try to make revenge out to be such a bad thing. IMO revenge is one of the things that makes society possible.

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Personally I don't think it's a bad thing at all; I just don't think the government should encourage it.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I'm not saying it's good for society in general, but I'd have no moral qualms about killing someone that raped my daughter.

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In fact, the only thing that might possibly prevent me from doing this would be that my family would lose me. Otherwise, I can say it would be a certainty.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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does closure need to mean vengeance? (serious question)

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For me I think it would. I don't feel that vengeance is a bad thing though in general.

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Exactly I'm always baffled why people try to make revenge out to be such a bad thing. IMO revenge is one of the things that makes society possible.

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that's interesting. How would you define revenge and how does it make society possible? I can't really think of examples so maybe I'm misunderstanding you...

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I'm not saying it's good for society in general, but I'd have no moral qualms about killing someone that raped my daughter.

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In fact, the only thing that might possibly prevent me from doing this would be that my family would lose me. Otherwise, I can say it would be a certainty.

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Definitely... again, though, I don't necessarily want the government authorizing this. Think of how quickly we'd be killing each other for.. oh, I don't know, <font color="white">hitting a two-outer </font> stealing a loaf of bread.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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edit: follow-up: they showed an execution in The Green Mile, but it was obviously an actor. is it different to you to watch a real person die?

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What in the hell kind of a question is that? Is there any doubt as to the answer to this? Wouldn't anyone who answered "no," in essense, be a sociopath? Possibly a full-blown psychopath?

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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Do you watch it?

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I dunno. What else is on?

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At first I started to laugh, then realized, if say the Bears were playing on another channel, I'd be watching that.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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I would consider having public executions to be beneficial.

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

In the case of something like 9/11, I don't see anything wrong with televising an execution. This guy 'executed' thousands of people, and the media televised that for the better part of the last four years.

Tit for tat.

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There could be some crime prevention benefits but mostly I meant that I think having the entire judicial process from start to finish open to the public eye is a good thing.

Whereas most of the stuff on MTV for instances has no value and is a bad thing.

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If 'everyday' (ie. not 9/11 terrorists) executions were televised, I would suspect that that you would see support for capital punishment start to slide. The spectacle of watching the state kill someone would horrify a good number of people. This would be especially true if the person being put to death is a woman (especially a young white woman), is mentally handicapped, is especially young, or where there is doubt as to the guilt of the person being executed.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

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I don't think this term means what you think.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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What in the hell kind of a question is that? Is there any doubt as to the answer to this? Wouldn't anyone who answered "no," in essense, be a sociopath? Possibly a full-blown psychopath?

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Well, there are two components to an execution:

1) The physical events that are happening -- electric current is passed through a person's body until he is dead. This is inevitably accompanied by convulsions, freakish images, etc.

2) The taking of a real person's life.

A scene in a movie removes the second aspect from consideration... so the question about the actor separates the two aspects of the execution.

Also, 9/11 is a bad example, but some of the criminals on TV are so far removed from most of our lives that they would just seem like movie characters to many viewers -- and not in a sociopathic way.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

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As another level of negative reinforcement, you mean?

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I don't think this term means what you think.

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I probably misused it, I'm doing a few things at once.

I meant to suggest that a televised execution would provide a clear example of why it is bad to kill and rape people... and thereby discourage them from doing it.

You're right -- negative reinforcement would be something like slapping someone every time he swore, or something like that. My bad.

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

I have enough issues with death/dying. I don't think I could watch

Re: Televised execution of criminals
 

Look at this. exactly 50/50 at the moment.. 29/29.

That's pretty interesting.

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Exactly I'm always baffled why people try to make revenge out to be such a bad thing. IMO revenge is one of the things that makes society possible.

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Personally I don't think it's a bad thing at all; I just don't think the government should encourage it.

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I don't consider government to "the government" but rather just another tool of society so that would be like saying society shouldn't encourage society. If you don't think it is a bad thing, then why shouldn't we encourage it on some level?

I'll state right now for example I fully support criminal punishment for strictly vindictive purposes.