Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thiel College-Death Penalty

Thiel College-Comment Project 2

Should severe mental illness and/or veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injury be categorically removed from the imposition of the death penalty?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Student #7

In my opinion,

Mental illness and veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries should not be removed from the death penalty. If these two are removed, then every other sort or mental illness, disease, disability could argue to be removed. Most of the people who commit these horrible crimes, already have some sort of illness. Also, there are so many programs that help veterans with PTSD or brain injuries after they return home. Therefore they should be receiving help once they get home, not after and unfortunate death. I do believe in rehabilitation, but if someone is capable of committing the worst of all crimes that leads to the death penalty, then they should be responsible for their actions.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 8
In my Opinion, I believe that those with mental illness, PTSD, or traumatic brain injury should not be removed from the death penalty. These individuals have behavioral problems yes, but does that simply give them a free pass for their crimes? No, they should still face the justice system like any other person. A plea of insanity should still be exercised and the right to be rehabilitated should still be available, but for those whose crimes are, to a point, judged to be too heinous, then the judgement of capital punishment should be expressed, not just to give the offender his "just deserts" but to give a fair judgement in the name of the victims, the public, and the justice system.

Anonymous said...

Student 11:

People with mental illnesses would, in a better America, be excluded from the death penalty and put into lifelong programs to rehabilitate and still serve for what they have done. However, in modern America, people with disabilities do not have great options to seek help in the first place, thus allowing for their conditions to worsen. Despite this, it is unlawful anyway for the government to kill people who are not fully aware of their actions. If someone is mentally disabled but shows that they were aware of what they had done and it was premeditated, then they should stay on death row; but, if they clearly had no control over what happened, then the death penalty is wrong.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 16:
One of the questions often posed by those on both sides of the death penalty stance is whether those with mental illnesses and veterans with PTSD should be expelled from the possibility of receiving the death sentence. I believe that they should, for various reasons. First, many of those who receive the death penalty—at least in the cases of our book—often know what they did was wrong, otherwise they would not be so emotional or combative when they realize their fate. Although a person who has been unjustly accused may react in the same way, we know that these men in our book were guilty and that they knew they were guilty. However, those who have a mental illness or those with PTSD may not be truly aware of what they have done. In certain cases of PTSD, the reality of the person is misconstrued beyond recognition and they may truly feel like they are back where they received the PTSD from, thus reacting as if they were truly in that reality rather than in the safe place they are now. And those who suffer from mental illnesses—such as schizophrenia—will likely not realizing what they are doing, as they are on a different mental processing system than those who do not have mental illnesses. While our mental health programs for those who need help are better now than they were 50 years ago—we usually don’t go locking people up in tiny cages or strapping them to beds anymore, as opposed to asylums of previous decades—we are still lacking in adequate enough mental health care to help those who suffer from PTSD and other illnesses. While I do not think they should receive the death penalty, I also do not believe they should be allowed to walk away without punishment depending on their crime. If they are found guilty or murder, they should be given a life-in-prison sentence rather than execution. They can still pay for their crime and be taken away from the general society for everyone’s safety, but they should not be given a punishment that they might not understand or deserve due to their mental problems. There is a difference between those who know what they did and could control themselves, and those who either do not understand what they did or cannot control themselves due to a mental condition. This is why there should be an exemption from the death penalty for those who deal with PTSD and mental illness, but not an exemption from punishment in general.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 9

In my opinion, veterans suffering from PTSD should be exempt from the death penalty. If the veterans are brave enough to serve our country and sacrifice their life for other Americans, they should be treated differently and receive life in prison without the possibility of parole, rather than the death penalty. They should not be excused from the crime that they committed and they should not be treated differently altogether, but their service to the United States should be a factor in their sentencing. This exemption should be exclusively for veterans who suffer from PTSD. The men and women who are engaged in combat suffer traumatic experiences that ultimately can change them as a person and basically take their life away from them after combat. If a veteran commits a murder because of their mental illness, they should in fact be treated differently because their risk taking made an impact in our America.

Anonymous said...

Student #21

I believe that veterans and people with mental illness should be exempt from the death penalty. I understand that these people have the ability to make the choice to kill someone, but their mental health doesn't allow them to know that it is a wrong choice. I think that these people should be given the help that they deserve in the first place, which could prevent them from committing crimes. I do not believe that anyone should get away with a crime, no matter the circumstances but I do believe that factors such as mental illness or PTSD should be considered in sentencing. The goal of the justice system is not just to punish people for their crimes, but to rehabilitate people to better society. The Death Penalty does not given the opportunity for someone to better themselves, or to get the help that they need.

Anonymous said...

Student No.17
I would say that most "normal" people shy away from the idea of taking another's life. The problem we see here is unintended consequences. Few logical individuals would want to take the life of one of our veterans, especially if their actions came from a mental illness acquired in the defense of our country. Unfortunately, by trying to avoid making PTSD a scapegoat, and by trying to avoid creating a dangerous precedent of letting killers off the hook for any reason, we have not been able to find a solution. When we do, I am sure that the majority of people would be on board protecting veterans, or anybody with severe mental illness or traumatic brain injury.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 4
PTSD is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The veterans that have PTSD have no control of this disorder. They can take all the medicine they want and see all the doctors they want and none of that can help that veteran. We as citizens cannot control what these veterans are going through. If they commit a crime yes they need to be punished for that crime but if that veteran had PTSD or a mental illness they do not deserve to be put to death. Why should we punish a veteran by putting them to death when they put their life on the line for us. Is that how we repay them. They need the help and the government is not helping them by putting them to death for committing a crime. So, no I do not believe veterans with PTSD, or a mental illness should be put to death. WE need to help them not take the easy way out.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 6:

We have learned about a few gorups of people who have been excluded from the Death Penalty. These two groups would be the mentally handicapped, as well as juvenielles. Both have been exlcuded from this form of punishment, on the basis of they are not cognitivley devloped enough to be aware of their decisions. In my opinion, Veterans with PTSD or a brain injurty should be included into the groups of those excluded from the punishment. PTSD is a serious mentall illness that impairs how one thinks, reactions, and handles situations. A brain injury may also contribute to poor decions making, as adoes the underdevelopment of the frontal lobe for children.

Anonymous said...

Student No. 13:
I believe they should be given an alternative form of punishment. While they should serve a lifelong punishment for their crimes, the death penalty does not seem like a just punishment. I think this because individuals with these disabilities are not able to fully control their thoughts and actions. An alternative punishment could be some sort of rehabilitation or imprisonment.

Anonymous said...

#20

Since this being an extremely debatable topic, I believe people with a mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, should be reconsidered, maybe to an intense rehabilitation center. Veterans with PTSD should get the same thing along those lines, as well. These people who commit these heinous crimes should still serve their time, but this also depends on the severity and scope of the crime itself to be considered for the death penalty.

student 14 said...

student 14

My honest opinion, that people with severe mental illness or veterans with PTSD should be placed on the death penalty depending on how bad their crime was. For example if someone who has PTSD walks into a day care and kills insist little children, I would think they would deserve the death penalty, but if it was just a simple first degree murder charge It would make more sense not to give them the death penalty and just simply life in prison. For mental illness I would feel the same way. I also think that there should be some sort of test proving that you have a mental illness. Anybody that is on trial for the death penalty could plead he’s mentally insane to be exempt for the death penalty. I watched the cop car camera video of Andrew H. Brannan who killed a police officer. Andrew was taunting the officer before killing him, which in my mind that would be someone who deserves the death penalty

Anonymous said...

Student 10

I don't think that those with severe mental illness or PTSD should be completely removed from the imposition of the death penalty, however, I do believe that it should be a mitigating factor. A mitigating factor is something that is used to show a reason why that person should not receive the death penalty. Individual's with these mental illnesses should be able to use their illness as a mitigating factor. They would be able to yield the repercussions of their crimes committed, while also being able to seek the help that they need. People with these illnesses, especially to the extreme, are not cognitively developed properly. Therefore, they may not even be aware of what they are doing or that what they are doing is wrong. This is why they need treatment and need to seek help. However, I believe that if these groups are disqualified from receiving the death penalty, it may be abused within the system. This is why it should be a mitigating factor instead of a disqualification.

Anonymous said...

Student 19

In my opinion, I believe people with severe mental illnesses or PTSD should be excluded from the death penalty. I believe this because whatever crime they did, they more than likely did not know they were doing wrong or they were not in the right state of mind. Therefore, on that stance i believe it is not justifiable to sentence them to death for something they might not even have known they did. Rather, we should send them to institutions that can help them with their mental health or PTSD.

Anonymous said...

Student 12

I believe that individuals with severe mental illness should be removed from the imposition of the death penalty. However, I do not believe that veterans with PTSD should be categorically removed from the imposition of the death penalty unless they are also suffering from some sort of severe mental illness. I think that those with a several mental illness should be removed because these individuals may not not know the difference between right and wrong or may not have control over their actions at certain times. I would however caution that this would only be for those who had a documented sever mental illness. You would have to decide this on a case by case basis. The Court would have to define what exactly is a severe mental illness. With regard to veterans with PTSD, I don't believe they should be excluded. I am not discounting their service to our country but, I think if you were to do this it would open up a rabbit hole were people will claim they have PTSD from some traumatic life event and them use this to try and not get sentenced to death for some horrific crime they committed. There are also a variety of programs and opportunities that help vets struggling with PTSD.

Unknown said...

END

Anonymous said...

Student #3

Severe mental illness of any kind, including types suffered by veterans, should warrant a removal from the imposition of the death penalty. I do not believe the death penalty should be legal for any reason, but especially not for someone with a documented mental illness. It makes no sense to punish someone for killing another by killing them. An eye for an eye should be kept with Hammurabi. The question of mental illness playing a role makes the thought of capitally killing them even worse. That's like yelling at a sick dog for going to the bathroom in house when they do not even realize they are doing it. In first degree murder, the causes are obviously more real than buying a new rug, so options of life in prison should certainly be the course of action. The death penalty for any person is trying to play god, and no person has the right to take the life of another.

Anonymous said...

Student Number: 2

Veterans with PTSD and mental illnesses should be exempt from the death penalty. Rather than letting them off or just letting them serve a longer sentence, we should be placing these individuals in facilities that will rehabilitate them while keeping them and others safe. There is the issue that this would lead to many other individuals claiming that they suffer from these illnesses as well.

Anonymous said...

Student 18
I don’t think those who have PTSD should be executed. PTSD is a mental condition that causes serious physiological harm to those who suffer from it and they aren’t in the right state of mind. Although this doesn’t excuse terrible violate acts I think it does count as a mental illness that excuses those from the death penalty as it is illegal to execute those with a mental illness which PTSD is

Anonymous said...

Student: 5
The laws that come with the death penalty excuse people who suffer from any type of illness such as PTSD. Veterans that suffer from PTSD should not be executed because they are already dealing with situations from the war they served in which means that sometimes they aren't in the right state of mind.

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