What is our position on the use of the death penalty?

Thank you @vik. I am convinced. Like I said, I would prefer even a lack of punishment. There is a need to separate justice from revenge.

There are ways miscarriage of justice can be prevented and there is miscarriage of justice in all sorts of punishments. I am merely making points I find somewhat unique to how I think to add to the thought flow.

I'd be happy if the death penalty were done away with. I am merely saying that I accept there are reasons to accept it under unique circumstances. I think there is an urgent need to make the law equal for people who are supposedly equal before it. When the law is not equal, then the death penalty actually becomes a weapon of communal hate - which in my view is even more dangerous than the death penalty alone - a state with laws perverted against some citizens and in favor of others is what we have right now.

Interestingly Pope Francis is addressing the US Congress today on this topic.

"Pope calls on Congress to help abolish the death penalty

The pontiff’s speech continues to address many of what in ordinary circumstances would be considered “third rails” in American politics. Now, he sets his sights on the death penalty.

“The Golden Rule” - “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, from Matthew chapter 7, verse 12 - “also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development,” he says."

This guy managed to save his neck with only 3 days to go:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/02/missouri-governor-death-row-inmate-execution

Some more people who weren’t so lucky, they we're killed before later being found innocent:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Evans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmood_Hussein_Mattan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bentley_case

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Tafero

@rajudvindane @gounder @abhijithb @akshay @arjun looking for some more views on this - what do you guys say?

I certainly don't believe in 'eye for an eye'. But I have no idea how to think about issues like this which are full of complications of culture, psychology, psychopathology, etc.

same here ..i get in a fix when im asked about stuff like this.. Cuz im not really sure .. my question is , what is the alternative? 'An eye for an eye' - I do not stand by it as well.. I also feel that the death penalty is no terror deterrent.. but I doubt if I'd feel the same way if it were to affect me.. for instance, how do you convince a person who has lost his family to a murderer that the best way to resolve the issue would be to simply put the perpetrator behind bars for a very long time? ..

@arjun there are two different things here. One getting convinced yourself and convincing others. You don't have to accept only things that you can convince others. Then we can never change anything. Also it is ignoring your own capacity to think and decide yourself.

But you see, here, the very choice of our position depends on what works for the society.

@akshay changing society is a an after effect of more people getting convinced.