College & High School Shootings: What Now

[Whippett]

Coming from a country with strict gun control as well - I have to say that I've never understood the American love affair with guns. Guns don't kill - but any lunatic can get a gun - and that is the problem - lunatics with guns! Sometimes I think that the line between responsible and irresponsible ownership in terms of guns is lost in the political argument. And gun ownership should be a responsibility - and should not be a universal right.

I'm also with TYWD on the death penalty - it serves no purpose except revenge. Heck, if the death penalty were a deterrent there would likely be far fewer mass murders in the US. The media should certainly stop sensationalizing mas murder as well - all that does is bring out one more unhinged copy-cat killing.

[Thorne]

I'm also with TYWD on the death penalty - it serves no purpose except revenge.

I disagree. While it's true that the death penalty is not necessarily a deterrent, I think it can, when applied properly, help to protect society and innocent civilians. I do not, however, propose applying the death penalty indiscriminately. A parent who kills his children, while heinous, is probably not a threat to anyone else. The Susan Smith case, here in South Carolina, comes to mind. While she most definitely killed her kids, many of the people who advocated giving her the death penalty wanted it only because she had misled them into thinking the kids had been kidnapped. She made them feel sorry for her and when they learned the truth they wanted her head. As it turned out she was given a life sentence, which I do think was appropriate in her case.
But a person like Jeffrey Dalmer or Richard Speck, who killed innocent people at random, with no ulterior motive, certainly deserve the death penalty. They are a threat to anyone they cross paths with and, if they should ever escape from prison (not unheard of, let's face it) they would undoubtedly kill again.
I also believe that anyone who kills a police officer should be executed, a mandatory sentence without possibility of commutation. There are a few other types of crimes, along a similar vein, but I certainly wouldn't want to use the death penalty as a catch-all punishment.