Poll: Are murderers forgivable?

[N1ceDreamz]

Depends on the situation entirely.

Was it in self-defence/the defence of another when your/the other person(s) lives are at risk? Yes, it is a justiflied killing.
Was the victim someone whom has committed an unforgivable act, like a murderer or a dictator? Maybe, this situation depends on your point of view.
Was it a murder of someone over something as trival as money/material goods? No that is an unforgivable act and you should rot in prison/be on death row.

 

[i7omahawki]

It all depends on who you kill and why.
My mom once told me about a friend she had who murdered a man because he had raped his five year old niece(iirc). Totally justified in my opinion.

Good example of where the issue gets tricky for me, I think it is justified in that I could not blame any one person in any way attached to that situation for that resulting action. However, I don't think it is 'justice', so to speak. As in, I don't think anything like that should be sanctioned by law or even be recommended by those not personally affected.

I don't think pedophiles should be killed, mostly as I think by killing them we are exterminating the possibility for understanding them. Not understanding them in the sense that they are misunderstood, good people, but understanding why this fucked up thing happens and why, when it does, people do actually act on it.

I'm of the controversial opinion that pedophiles should be treated, not jailed, and the public should look on it as a disorder, not as simply being a monster. That said, if that situation occurred and resources available to them, AND they still acted upon them by rape or even molestation, we could truly condemn them.

/essay

TL;DR?: I can forgive a person for acting out of a passion I think it is essentially human to have, but to extend that to situations that do not directly relate to them other rules apply.

 

[Wulfheri]

Everything is killing everything since the beginning of time. And I think you should only have an opinion about that a murder if you are involved (friends etc) ofcourse you can always have an opinion but you have no influence so...

If you want to forgive something its your own choice.

 

[The Last Nomad]

for the most part Yeah, but it does depend on a lot of things.

But I don't see why a murderer person should be judged on their past actions. Just because somebody has done something once doesn't mean they are any more likely to do it again. I've never jumped out of an airplane but I sure as hell want to. I imagine there are some people who have done that and don't ever want to do it again.

 

[KaosuHamoni]

People can change. A person convicted of a crime, after 10 years in prison, may be a completely different person to the one that walked into that jail in the beginning.

No matter the action, if a person is willing to admit they did wrong, change for the better because of it, and do all they can to make up for their actions, then they should be forgiven.

 

[LordLoudmouth]

depends who how and and why murderer did the deed

 

[Grospoliner]

I can understand killing to stop a killer but not straight up cold blooded murder. The same for soldiers killing enemy forces in combat as opposed to soldiers murdering non-combatants.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

No, murder is not forgivable. homicide could be, depending on the circumstances, but murder is not. To clarify, homicide is the act of killing another human being, which could be self-defense, defense of a friend, defense of the innocent, war, ect. Murder is killing another human being in cold blood, and that is unforgivable.

Summed it up perfectly for me.

Unless you have some really good reason (Like, say... killing this person would stop all wars forever and bring about an everlasting world peace), there's no reason to kill someone in cold blood. Even if he did something to you that prompted you to such rage, you've basically lowered yourself to his level if you've killed him, and thus failed to avenge anything in the process.

 

[Extragorey]

Anyone is forgivable. And no doubt anyone reading this will immediately think of Hitler...
But the same stays true. Maybe if I was a Jew in a konzentrationslager, you could say that I would be blinded by rage or the desire for vengeance and thus unable to forgive... But no, your personal situation doesn't change the truth. Anyone can be forgiven.
Murderers - small-time in the eyes of the public when put next to serial killers - are no exception.
Anyone is "forgivable" while there is one person who can find it in them to forgive.

We are all equal at birth. How we grow up is the result of influences and pressures imposed on us along the way. But everyone has the same potential, regardless of how they wield it. If an innocent, therefore, can be forgiven for a small wrong, so too can a murderer.

 

[Jaffinnegan]

If it is a Murder because of blind-rage, like if the Murderer found his wife in bed with another man, then he can be forgiven, and likely will not murder again; But if it is someone going around killing for no reason at all, or someone that had planned a Murder for personal gane, then they should get the Chair.

 

[viranimus]

Jebus! Ohkaaay, yet again I will be the voice that goes against the apathetic pulse.

NOOOOOOOO its not ok.

First off, lets touch on instances of killing someone for the greater good which seems to be the most popular justification. You have to ask yourself, who are you to judge what the greater good is? If you really need to understand how this works, look at all the Germans who followed Hitler in WW2. Much like the people in this thread they felt like many of these deaths (at least initially during Hitlers rise) that were for the greater good, as they were being attacked socially, economically and what was being done was done for the greater good of the people. People condemn Hitler at every possible chance but they seem to forget the fact that Hitler was not born the Ruler of Germany. Hitler did not forcibly seize power through military coup (again, at least initially). Hitler gained power through the support of the people, who believed what he was doing was for the greater good.

Seconly, We have language for a reason. You cant say "murder is OK if its self defense" because Self defense is not murder to begin with. Thats why we have terms like Manslaughter.

You know I am not saying this as some high and mighty ideologue. I say this as someone who was only a matter of inches from being murdered.

Initial

Elaboration

and to this day, even though the guy who tried to end my life IS a danger to himself, and society I would never wish death upon him because its not my right to determine if he lives or dies. As someone who studies psychology, I see infinitely more cases of people using "justifible murder" and death sentences as a stop gap solution because we are unwilling to do the work or unwilling to bear the financial burdens of treating people properly.

Simply put there is no time when murder is justifiable. If you can justify murder you can justify anything, no matter how heinous, and who exactly are we to play God in such a manner?

_____________________________________________________________________________

What's with all your psychologically investigative threads? This is the third one I've seen.

Seriously with parade of "Zombie apocalypses with a twist", "Am I the only one?" "Why all the hate" "Loosing faith in humanity" and any of the rest of the redundant threads we see on a daily basis, I love it when someone presents a topic that actually has some actual discussion value and does not basically exist as a "this is my answer" list. Kudos OP!

 

[FallenRainbows]

Depends totally on why they murdered them.

 

[winter2]

Like I am sure many have already said, IT ALL DEPENDS. It's also a poorly stated question, because it wasn't specific enough.

 

[Alon Shechter]

No, under any circumstances.
I don't really count the killing of someone who is dangerous to society as murder.

 

[evilengine]

like everything else it surely depends on the circumstances. Example, a man murders his wife when he finds her cheating on him with another man. That would be a crime of passion, he didn't plot it, or conspire against her, he simply snapped and lashed out. This can happen to anyone, regardless of how cool and clear thinking they might be, he would very likely be heartbroken and devastated at what he'd done. Surely he should be forgiven, or at the very least given leniency as he's not a cold blooded killer, just an average man who lost control.

Conversely, a remorseless, plotted, cold blooded murder is much harder, if impossible, to forgive. He might have a good reason for killing his victim, like previously mentioned his partner may have cheated on him, however he had the opportunity to think it through, weigh the consequences of his actions. He made his decision, he had plenty of time to back out, and should be given little, if any, leniency. People like this are much harder to forgive, if forgivable at all.

 

[Spoonius]

What's with all your psychologically investigative threads? This is the third one I've seen.

Seriously with parade of "Zombie apocalypses with a twist", "Am I the only one?" "Why all the hate" "Loosing faith in humanity" and any of the rest of the redundant threads we see on a daily basis, I love it when someone presents a topic that actually has some actual discussion value and does not basically exist as a "this is my answer" list. Kudos OP!

I wasn't giving him shit... it's just that the OP obviously has something on his mind.

 

[tstorm823]

I disagree with the general consensus of "depends on why."

Is murder forgivable? I'd say yes. I'd say that all things are forgivable, no matter how terrible. No, I neither have proof, nor explaination for this.

Based on my experience and gut instinct, I'd say that the only time something is unforgivable is when the perpetrator doesn't want forgiveness. A man could bomb a building and kill a thousand people; their loved ones probably won't forgive him, but if he truely regrets the action, they could. Whereas a person could do so little as slapping you in the face, if they never care to be forgiven and would gladly do it again, you probably aren't ever going to think anything nice about them.

 

[Sparrow]

Depends on the circumstances, I would think. What's the difference between killing someone on death row and letting the government do it?

If I kill a serial killer am I a monster? No, I killed one to save more and maybe revenged a few.

If I killed a little kid, then I am a monster.

It just depends on circumstances.

But what if you killed a little kid that was a serial killer? BAM, got you now!

 

[viranimus]

What's with all your psychologically investigative threads? This is the third one I've seen.

Seriously with parade of "Zombie apocalypses with a twist", "Am I the only one?" "Why all the hate" "Loosing faith in humanity" and any of the rest of the redundant threads we see on a daily basis, I love it when someone presents a topic that actually has some actual discussion value and does not basically exist as a "this is my answer" list. Kudos OP!

I wasn't giving him shit... it's just that the OP obviously has something on his mind.

I know, wasnt calling you out for giving him shit. Honestly I think we could deal with a good deal more thought provoking threads because as of late weve had a lack of them. Better to have something on your mind than not a thought in your head

(Also, Im seeing a lack of scientific articles too I have noticed Hey Escapist... If your looking for writers.. Gets us a Science reporter! )

 

[General BrEeZy]

hmm..."accidents" are, "murders" arent.
"assassinations" might be, there are too many variables to consider, so i'll say yes, depending on circumstances and reconciliations and stuff.