Death penalty in DR

Riu · #1 08-22-2005, 09:27 AM

Is there a death penalty in DR? If so, what are the crimes most likely to fall under this heading? Crime is out of control in DR, Santo Domingo area as I read the e-newspaper, and it seems current policies are not having effect on the crime wave. Would more severe penalties have more effect in your opinion?

pkaide1 · #2 08-22-2005, 09:49 AM

Are you kidding me? death penalty in Dominican Republic. There is still too much work that need to be done in the legal system and the government itself, before such a thing.

qgrande · #3 08-22-2005, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkaide1

Are you kidding me? death penalty in Dominican Republic. There is still too much work that need to be done in the legal system and the government itself, before such a thing.

That is one way of looking at it. Another is that apart from the USA countries with the death penalty tend to be authoritarian or disorganised third world countries that do not have their legal act together. About whether the death penalty would reduce crime, that's of course an old discussion. Has it helped in the US, is there less crime in the US than in Canada, Europe, New Zealand or Australia? Does the cause of crime in the DR lie in the weakness of its penalties?

Riu · #4 08-22-2005, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qgrande

That is one way of looking at it. Another is that apart from the USA countries with the death penalty tend to be authoritarian or disorganised third world countries that do not have their legal act together. About whether the death penalty would reduce crime, that's of course an old discussion. Has it helped in the US, is there less crime in the US than in Canada, Europe, New Zealand or Australia? Does the cause of crime in the DR lie in the weakness of its penalties?

I see your point, DR legal system needs a lot of work of course. But given the severity of some of the crimes commited, and given that the DR legal system would be better, it is my opinion that it should have a death penalty. It may sound inhumane, but so are the crimes commited. I saw an article on TV about a police officer who executed his underaged wife in such a savage way, that the only penalty for this guy should be at leat the "electric chair". The death penalty would be a deterrent, but you are right about the DR legal system, at the moment it is no suited for it.

HOWMAR · #5 08-22-2005, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riu

The death penalty would be a deterrent, but you are right about the DR legal system, at the moment it is no suited for it.

No legal system is suited for it including the DR and the US. The death penalty would never be carried out equally across economic or racial differences. In the US, if you are black and poor, you are much more likely to be sentenced to death than for a similar crime committed by a rich, white person. It is a known fact that life in Dominican jails for people with money is not like that for the poor. Also, the availability of legal defense for the poor is very limited.
As far as deterrence, there is no difference in the murder rate in states which use the death penalty, than those that do not.

Chris_NJ · #6 08-22-2005, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riu

Is there a death penalty in DR?

Not officially, but how many times do we read in the news about how criminals are killed in a gun fight with the police?

MrMike · #7 08-22-2005, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_NJ

Not officially, but how many times do we read in the news about how criminals are killed in a gun fight with the police?

Exactly. If Amnesty International is to be believed, (and I have a feeling their stats may be padded) the death penalty is carried out in the DR at the rate of about 0.6 times daily.

We hear about it in the news as "intercambio de disparos".

Riu · #8 08-22-2005, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMike

We hear about it in the news as "intercambio de disparos".

This would be execution by squad!!!. If these criminals were executed by police, why aren't there public complaints aired in the media. This happens during the day many times and there are plenty of people around as witness. I think DR criminal have come to the conclusion that they are above the law and that their actions have no consequense. If you were a cop, and you were shot at, what would you do?

MrMike · #9 08-22-2005, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riu

This would be execution by squad!!!. If these criminals were executed by police, why aren't there public complaints aired in the media. This happens during the day many times and there are plenty of people around as witness. I think DR criminal have come to the conclusion that they are above the law and that their actions have no consequense. If you were a cop, and you were shot at, what would you do?

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to say.

I don't think the public complains to the press much because

a) they don't mind criminals being dealt with in this manner and

b) members of the press are dealt with in the same way that criminals are when they become a niusance.

RHM · #10 08-22-2005, 03:05 PM

The death penalty is not a deterrent against capital crimes. That has been proven over and over. BUT the recidivism rate of those who are given the death penalty is 0% and we don't end up paying 35-40K per year (in the US) to support them in prison where they have everything they need and more.

To say that the DR has no death penalty is like saying that abortion does not exist in the DR because it is illegal. Both are alive and well.

Scandall