Death penalty is too harsh, but longer punishments should be incorporated.

No.

I am all for the death penalty and wish more countries had it.

However; my bottom line is this... if you want all people who commit hate crimes put down, should we not all be put down for hating? I hate to sound all religious here (even though I am not), but a lot of religions have it right when it comes to the thought of being the better person.

There are those ignorant yahoo's out there that hate anyone not like them. Then there are those that hate those ignorant yahoo's. Is this not along the same train of thought?

Yes, it is 2012, and so many things have changed, and for some these changes are not happening fast enough. This I truly do understand. And I wish it were different. But to change the generations way of thinking that have been taught to them since before they were born (or hatched depending on who we are talking about here) will take a miracle to break down their sense of pride and what they see as their morals and values.

Wanting harsher punishments for hate crimes won't work, because then those that want them, are no better than the ones doing the crime.

It is a shame to see anyone harmed so badly that their entire future that they planned is wiped out from before their eyes. Punishments are not harsh enough for rapists, child abusers/molesters, robbers, theifs, con artists, drunk drivers... I've seen too many victims watch those that hurt them set free only a couple of years after the worst day of their lives. This is not just something that happens to victims of hate crime. And I think this is something that people have to remember as well.

Don't wish death.

But I should disclose I'm strongly against the death penalty..

I support the death penalty depending on the severity of the crime. I definitely think the laws are too lenient, especially when it comes to hate crimes and animal abuse.

If you beat someone to death purely because they are living their life how it makes them happy and how they feel comfortable living it and you don't agree with it, you are not a good person and should be punished. Severely.

no. i oppose the death penalty no matter what the crime is.

I don't know how I stand on the issue. I think it depends on what exactly happened... it's just such a heavily weighted topic that I don't know what to say.

Harsher sentences? Possibly, provided it would actually deter attacks of that sort; it's often just assumed that a harsher sentence translates to less crime, but the data often doesn't bear that out and retribution for retribution's sake is unacceptable. Capital punishment? No, even the most heinous crimes don't warrant state-sanctioned killing (even if we lived in a world without wrongful convictions or a highly racially-biased application of the death penalty--which we don't).

a controversial subject, thx for bringing it up. I've enjoyed reading the responses