Death penalty: could you carry it out?

[-:Undertaker:-]

I just came across this film made by Channel 4 which is hypothetical but which imagines a scenario where the death penalty is reintroduced in Britain, and where child abuser Gary Glitter is executed for his crimes. It's pretty good from the clips I have seen, and uses real politicians and people in it....... but it got me thinking, if the death penalty where reintroduced for those of us who support it, could you yourself pull the lever to have somebody swing? Or could you yourself flick the switch to execute somebody?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPtEWA2BzZQ

It's at the very end of the film (1:13 to 1:14) if you want to see the traditional British method of execution: hanging.

So could you do it?

I certainly could and would.

[Lewis]

Do I agree with the death penalty? Hard to say, but some people definitely deserve it.

Do I think it should come back? Considering people get only like 15 years for murder the UK (I'm not an expert when it comes to crime punishments, but at least a lot or some only get that), the death penalty should be brought back and given to them, or they should actually get life in prison... by that I mean be in prison until they die.

Could I pull it? No. To me, I'd feel like I'm the one killing them (which I would be) and I could not. However, if the person killed someone from my family or did whatever other crime worthy of the death penalty, I probably could.

[Sian]

no, im completely against the death penalty, it's just humanity trying to massage their egos and seek revenge, we should not murder no matter what someone has done, it makes us as bad as them.

[Chippiewill]

No I couldn't carry it out, and anyone in this tread claiming they can for certain are probably unknowingly lying.

The death penalty is a bit of a messy issue for a lot of reasons. John Oliver (Star of the Bugle, formerly the Daily Show and now Last Week Tonight) recently did a segment on the death penalty which summarises the big cons fairly clearly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kye2oX-b39E

[Kardan]

I wouldn't want to do it, no.