EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

KamikazeBurger · Senior Member

Japan executes mentally ill prisoners

jallen · Senior Member

While it's clear that better treatment of the prisoners is needed, the fact of the matter remains that these individuals were on Death Row for a reason. To pardon them would be an injustice to the families and friends of the people who were hurt by these criminals. While something needs to be done regarding the treatment of Death Row convicts in the future, I believe that the correct decision was made here.

KamikazeBurger · Senior Member

I agree with you, but however if they were to be executed, I find it pretty extreme that they would be, well, tortured first.

-Armodios V.

Bridget C · Senior Member

Well if you want to punish someone, trapping them in isolated cells with no knowledge of when they will be executed is definately a way to do it. I am not at all suprised that this kind of incarceration causes mental illness among inmates. However I do not disagree with the execution of these inmates because they committed a crime that is punishable by death, and became mentally ill through the process of being incarcerated (by my understanding of the article) not before they committed the actual crime. Therefore executing these mentally ill inmates is not really more unethical than executing stable inmates.

ashleyhebert8 · Senior Member

This was definitly not unethical. They committed the crime and then became mentally ill while in solitary confinement waiting to be sentenced to death. They still deserve the punishment.

Michael Paramo · Newbie

I belive that in this case it was right for them to execute the mentally ill prisoners because they broke the law which caused them to go to jail, staying in jail caused them to go insane, and going insane led to their death.

Vincevito13 · Veteran Member

What the reason they went to death row is unknown but they went to death row perfectly sane, but they became insane by the abnormal tortures of death row so, yeah they are on death row they will die but is is right to drive them mentally insane by tirture first and then kill them, i personally dont think so.

Brenna · Veteran Member

wow this completely not ok. even if they did commit an atrocious crime they dont deserve to be tortured for years or ever decades before their death. anyone who becomes mentally insane for unjust treatment must be treated pretty badly. i dont believe it is morally right to do that to someone no matter what they did.

nancymclaren · Senior Member

Whenever I debate with someone that when someone does a crime they should or should not be immediately killed. Death isn't always the worst thing. So becoming mentally ill from being in jail for so long seems to be a good punishment in my opinion. And then eventually being killed, seems right. If they earned it, they deserve it.

artferrand · Senior Member

Of course they deserve the death penanlty for what they did, its not like they should be forgiven because they became mentaly ill in jail.

YGfamily · Senior Member

first of all, that's really sad. how alone could they have been to be driven to insanity. on the other hand these people were already on death row so... it seems ok to me. and plus this is asia we're talking about, there's like no mercy over there.

citlallycontreras · Senior Member

im against the death penalty and i think its wrong to have killed them wheter they were mentally ill or not.. but what i think is more wrong is how they were driven insane in jail. prisoners still need to be treated well in jail no matter what crime they comitted..

Yuuki R Bowen · Veteran Member

I definitely agree with you they shouldn't be killed what so ever i know that people do bad things in life but they shouldn't lose there life for it, and even in jail they should be treated like any other person that is in jail.just like people who are and black where treated differently and this world was awful we shouldn't treat people differently know mater who they are even if mentally ill

jaquelynn16 · Senior Member

i have no problem with the death penalty and also think that if people know that these people were executed and why, then maybe there wont be so much crime. i think that the Japanese government made a good example out of these people. the law is the law and if you cannot follow them, then there will be consequences.

-- Edited by jaquelynn16 on Thursday 17th of September 2009 03:11:20 AM

Chriskang · Veteran Member

I think it is right for the prisoners to be executed because they committed a crime and they should have a penalty for it. But I don't agree with the idea of solitary confinement to the point of insanity. I think if the prisoners are on death row, their punishment is death. I think solitary confinement would be unnecessary.