Thread: Death penalty for Metro bombers in Belarus

Apparently the EU critisized Belarus for sentencing the Metro bombers who killed 15 people and had no motive.

• Is it right to sentence these people to death?
• Should ANY European country practice capital punishment - not even Russia does anymore?
• Is the EU hypocritical to critisize Belarus, a non-member, while not commenting on the fact that hundreds of Americans are executed for much smaller crimes?

BBC

The supreme court in Belarus has sentenced two men to death for bombing the underground railway in the capital, Minsk, earlier this year.

The attack on 11 April killed 15 people and wounded hundreds of others.
Dmitry Konovalov, 25, was found guilty of carrying out the explosion and Vladislav Kovalyov, also 25, of assisting in "an act of terrorism".
The two men will be executed by shooting in the only nation in Europe still using capital punishment.
They were also found guilty of involvement in three earlier bomb attacks in 2005 and 2008, which together injured more than 100 people.
"The court believes that [they] pose an exceptional danger to society and thus require the ultimate punishment," the judge told the court.

The two convicted men were described as 'explosives enthusiasts' without political motives

I think that...
1) It might be too harsh (or might be not), but I do not feel sorry for them. They deliberately murdered and injured dozens of innocent people, so they've made their own bed.
2) It should depend on what people in this country want.
3) YES.

2) It should depend on what people in this country want.

I bet they support the death penalty for this crime...
Personally I hate the death penalty regardless of which country it is carrying it out, or the reason.

Собаке - собачья смерть.

I oppose the death penalty strongly. I abhor the fact that capital punishment is a common occurrence in my country (USA), even (in recent history) including a person who was found innocent. I find it especially horrifying that so many people are rabidly in favor of capital punishment and that these same people often refer to themselves as "pro-life."

Originally Posted by Hanna

Apparently the EU critisized Belarus for sentencing the Metro bombers who killed 15 people and had no motive.

• Is it right to sentence these people to death?
• Should ANY European country practice capital punishment - not even Russia does anymore?
• Is the EU hypocritical to critisize Belarus, a non-member, while not commenting on the fact that hundreds of Americans are executed for much smaller crimes?

BBC

Alyaksandr Kruty: 的知 waiting to be convoyed to Navinki for compulsory treatment against conscience - Charter'97 :: News from Belarus - Belarusian News - Republic of Belarus - Minsk
&
Aliaksandr Kruty waits to be transferred to Navinki psychiatric hospital to be “cured from conscience” | The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

See what's happening? A man who begs to ask "hard" or "inconvenient" questions in the court is put in a mental clinic! And this is the court that is supposed to figure out if those two men really have to do with mass killings and therefore committed a capital crime. Loads of people out there really don't believe those two guys did it, and the trial didn't convince them for it was too controversial itself. Now, your first question should be altered like this, "Is it right to sentence people who commit such a crime to death?". When there's a shade of doubt, capital punishment is totally unacceptable.

Originally Posted by Hanna

I bet they support the death penalty for this crime...

Yes, if you read the "1984" novel you must know how propaganda can affect people's minds and make them hate whoever would be convenient to the authorities.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Personally I hate the death penalty regardless of which country it is carrying it out, or the reason.

You said in the thread on drugs you would go with capital punishment for drug dealers.

Originally Posted by maxmixiv

Собаке - собачья смерть.

Find the dog first.

Originally Posted by Eric C.

You said in the thread on drugs you would go with capitasl punishment for drug dealers.

Yes you are right for a change. That must have confused those who know that I am against the death penalty.
My intention was to say that it would solve the drug problem to scare people off with 0 tolerance and the worst possible punishment, like Singapore has done. Or the other extreme end of the scale, harm reduction.
But that does not mean I think that killing drug smugglers is the morally right thing to do.
I should have clarified that just because something is efficient, it is not necessarily morally right.

Eric C.
Let’s say they really are guilty of the murders, would you oppose the death sentence then?

Originally Posted by alexB

Eric C.
Let’s say they really are guilty of the murders, would you oppose the death sentence then?

It's a complicated issue, I can't say for sure, but I can say it doesn't seem right that way, and most probably I would. Moreover, in the real world, in very few cases you can say someone is guilty of something with the certainty enough to take measures that can't be rolled back.

So the only problem is you can’t be certain enough of them being guilty otherwise you wouldn’t mind them being killed?
I’m just trying to understand why you western people are always so against rightfully punishing the bastard. Say your loved one is among the victims and you are absolutely sure the culprit is responsible what are your sentiments?

Originally Posted by alexB

So the only problem is you can’t be certain enough of them being guilty otherwise you wouldn’t mind them being killed?

Killing any people is not the right thing to do.

Originally Posted by alexB

I’m just trying to understand why you western people are always so against rightfully punishing the bastard.

Because I personally was taught in my childhood, violence will never stop violence.

The ironic thing here, is that the majority of victims' families (in America anyway) are opposed to the death penalty! It does not bring them the "closure" death penalty proponents always crow about. Nothing brings "closure" when someone is murdered suddenly or even if they die of natural causes. A person does not just "get over" death and killing someone - even if it seems justified because of the depravity of a persons' crimes - does not really bring about "justice." Anyway, a life behind bars with no possibility of parole may be a far keener torture than a merciful quick death - which costs the state far more anyway. I would rather see murderers and rapists or child molesters be sterilized first, so that they cannot produce more of their kind (in the event of an escape), and then lock them up for life.

Originally Posted by Deborski

The ironic thing here, is that the majority of victims' families (in America anyway) are opposed to the death penalty! It does not bring them the "closure" death penalty proponents always crow about. Nothing brings "closure" when someone is murdered suddenly or even if they die of natural causes. A person does not just "get over" death and killing someone - even if it seems justified because of the depravity of a persons' crimes - does not really bring about "justice." Anyway, a life behind bars with no possibility of parole may be a far keener torture than a merciful quick death - which costs the state far more anyway. I would rather see murderers and rapists or child molesters be sterilized first, so that they cannot produce more of their kind (in the event of an escape), and then lock them up for life.

You believe in the genetic nature of being a criminal? Like there are some "criminal" genes or something?

I would rather see murderers and rapists or child molesters be sterilized first

That's what might be our first Oskar in the category, the closure I’m all for provided it’s performed with dirty ragged edged pliers and with no anesthetic whatsoever.
Good choice, Deborski!

Originally Posted by alexB

That's what might be our first Oskar in the category, the closure I’m all for provided it’s performed with dirty ragged edged pliers and with no anesthetic whatsoever.
Good choice, Deborski!

And here comes the question I've so much been longing to ask a proponent of capital punishment or stuff like you just wrote about - would YOU be carrying it out?

Eric C.
There happened a crime in our town recently. Some pervert assaulted a salesgirl in a small shop that sells fur coats. He hit her head with a hammer, grabbed a coat and took off. The blow was so strong that one of her eyeballs dropped out and she died a little while after that.

So in answer to your question, YES, I wouldn’t blink an eye to do that.

Death is a little thing, really. Killing a criminal sometimes does him a favor. A quick and clean death is too small a punishment for certain crimes. I would use denial of all rights (including the so called 'human rights') to them and sentence to an life-long imprisonment in a pigpen (pigs would be offended, of course, but who cares about pigs).

Wow, I didn't know we had a cruelty contest here. This is just scary...