Are you prepared to pardon them if they come back?

No, if they did a crime that put them on death row, would you want, or trust them to fight with you? Sleep near you? Not abuse and torture innocent people?

That is a great idea...

We need trained soldiers to get us out of this mess, not killers.

i second that motion!!!

there was a movie some years back called the Dirty Dozen where that was exactly what happened during the second world war,i don t know whether or not that movie was based on a true story.

They are scum and could not be trusted in any way. That's why they are on death row.

No. Their first thing to do would be to escape. What do they have to lose. Serving in the military is for honorable people, not scum.

I think not. Some of them might actually enjoy it and people on death row should just be kept in jail. Being out of jail for any reason for them just gives them freedom and they don't deserve freedom.

I think the Idea is disrespectful to our soldiers. do you want your son or daughter fighting alonside this untrustworthy individual. our soldiers do the job whole heartidly they risk their lives for us. I feel that someone on death row has lost the priveledge to fight and die for this great country and is not worthy to lie next to our fallen heros.

Only if they wanted to go, there was a good movie called the Dirty Dozen that gave prisoners the chance to fight.

Eh...my opinion is no. They don't have any experience and in my opinion really cruel. They might also get in the way as others have stated.

No because they are undisciplined and unreliable and would end up embarassing us.

send em to iraq

No. if the prisoners committed major crimes, in order to be on death row, what makes one think they care anything about protecting our country or fellow military personnel? For the most part, these people are animals in a cage and rightly so. They care for no one, except themselves.

No. They are generally mentally unstable and might turn the tables and betray us.

I'd rather sacrifice men who have done cruel things than sacrifice men who have a family at home waiting for them. Rather than the men who work hard and are a positive influence on our community. My answer would be yes.

yes we should send them, but they should be able to choose wether they go or not because some of thier families still come and visit them.

What an awful idea and what a bunch of ignorant assholes for supporting it. What if some of these people that you're being so quck to literally condemn turn out to be innocent? And, even if not, nobody has the right to treat human beings like this. That's how the Nazis used to think.   http://www.talkleft.com/story/2004/08/10/928/05423

No. criminals are criminals. They are not interested in protecting anything, except themselves and their own profits. Bad idea.

We shouldn't send anyone to fight any wars.

They would kill the wrong people.

I'm against forcing anyone into the position of being a soldier... but to give violent criminals access to weapons and expect them to still do what their told is not well thought out. If we can't give them a toothbrush without them turning it into a weapon and stabbing a guard, what'll happen if we put a automatic weapon, grenades, rocket launchers and knives into their hands? They aren't threatened by the 'enemy', they view their own governments and local authority as the enemy. To think they will suddenly develop patriotism and fight to defend the country that has them sentenced to death is a bit over-optimistic.

No I don't think that would work

This isn't one isolated incident- 121 Iraq veterans have been charged with murder. This doesn't include the cases that have never been resolved, or the countless other veterans that have committed other acts of violence IN AMERICA. Who knows what kind of horrors they commit while in Iraq... And students have suffered since Columbine. After that, there were tighter security regulations at high schools all over the nation. Military regulations, however have not changed.

Has anyone ever seen Battle Royal? If we put collars on each inmate when they go overseas, we will be able to monitor them if they try to run away. Also, like in Battle Royal, if they do something that would go against our efforts in the war, like killing a fellow soldier, one push of the button, and the collar detonates. Im sure this would stop any inmates from going against us. This would be a significant way of motivating inmates. If they can survive a 2 year term, in the most dangerous situations, they come back a free man. By putting them in situations where there is a 85% chance of death, a majority wouldnt succeed. And whats better then emptying our prisons of these horrible people. If they die in combat, less tax money we have to put up. GREAT IDEA!!

Absolutely. You would have to put in place some very creative ways to keep them in line, but who better to commit the atrocities of war than those who have no sense of morals, conscience, empathy, or compassion. The other side is full of fundamentalist, radical people who also have nothing to lose. All prisoners should be given the choice to go fight, especially those on death row and for life/consecutive life sentences without possibility of parole. If I were given the choice to either sit in a jail cell and rot or go to fight on the front lines, I would definitely pick the front lines. You are right in the sense that they have nothing to lose and that their motivation for going wouldn't be to protect America, but for personal gain, but in this situation, they are benefitting. You could offer those on death row a reduced sentence to life without parole if they even made it back alive. I also think that they would have to stay for the duration of the entire war, which would vastly decrease the likelihood of them coming back at all. We could use these people as the 'scouts' to patrol and attack in the most dangerous areas which would keep our soldiers safer. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per inmate just to keep them locked up, especially those on death row. It is much more expensive to execute someone than it is to keep them in prison for life because of the cost of the appeals process and all the time and energy that is wasted processing those requests, not to mention feeding them and giving them a place to stay. By sending them to the absolute most dangerous parts of Iraq and Afghanistan, we would be not only benefiting ourselves financially, but as I stated earlier, we would be able to scout out extremely hostile areas with people who are entirely disposable. I definitely agree that the prisoners should never come into direct contact with any of the true soldiers. They would be housed in jail cells over there just like they are over here, only they would be let out to go kill Iraqi's instead of being let out to shoot some hoops. It is unconventional, controversial, and probably inhumane to some degree, but when you consider the things these people have done, war is more than a fair sentence. War is the dirtiest word in the English language. It includes murder, rape, stealing, racism, sexism, religious persecution and basically every other social and human evil in existence. It brings out the worst in any individual, why not let it be the individuals who have already proven themselves to be the worst. Save the honest, hard-working soldiers who are trying to make a life for themselves as much pain, agony, and post-traumatic stress as possible by using the lowest of the low to do our nation's dirtiest of dirty work.

we should send all prisoners to iraq without pardon. don't waste our soldiers on terrorism. Use terrorism to end terrorism. drop all our prisoners in iraq and let them sort for their own lives. We can not only use iraq for the oil, but it can be a new prison to replace all our overcrowded ones here in the United states. Why show prisoners sympathy, they had their chance to obey the law, respect others. Obviously we wouldn't send someone to their certain doom for shoplifting when they're young or stupid adolecent crap, but people on death row or for commiting hanus crimes should be put in their place.

Watch "the dirty dozen". An old war movie with Lee Marvin.

I say we cuff them up, strap them to the large bombs we tend to drop all over the place, and let them go out with a bang!

No. They would just run away. I would.

The armed forces want men who are decent men who won't randomly murder unarmed enemy soldiers or civilians. The kind of dirt bags on death row would love to be free to murder anyone they could, even possibly their own fellow soldiers. I know, the movie, Dirty Dozen had such murderers on the team that was to fight the Germans but Telly Sevalas who you remembered, played the part of a nut case who loved murdering women and nearly caused the mission to fail because he murdered a woman on the job. As a soldier, would you want to serve in the field with a nut case who loves to kill people, perhaps even you?

My opinion is that we should send criminals to war. If they were to be sent. Noone would mix them in with the good guys. I am 19 and have been through JROTC in high school. Many kids go in bad and come out disciplined. When I was in, the students controlled everything. Criminals would be sent with criminals. Went they would be sent over they would be sent with materials they needed to survive. Criminal or not you are raised with some common sense. They will not die of starvation. Giving the mission of killing as many of the bad guys as they can gives those you love more of a chance to live. They say marines are the first ones in and the last ones out. Well not anymore, criminals in first and i doubt they would make it out. If they do, I would say (reguardless if they were on death row or not) they should be freed. Being through what they would go through would show them the path to righteousness and would change their life for the best. Let the government try and see the outcome. Don't base anything off of a movie that was made so many years ago. Morals are changed over the years. And so are the thoughts and theories of the government and its people.

For starters, prisoners on death row should not be there long enough to justify this argument. The snail pace at which our justice system moves aside, our boys in uniform represent us on the battlefield. Anyone sent over there should have the honor and dignity of their country foremost in their minds and people selfish enough to rape and murder innocent people do not fit the bill. Also, this finds an excuse for allowing them to live "as long as they are useful" which not only degrades their lives but the lives of those they victimized. Justice is not about "usefulness" but about what is right. If these people kill, they are just as much the enemies of our nation as those we go to war against and should be dealt with in the same way: simple, methodical, swift, unbiased, execution.

Well thats a hard question to answer cuz at 1st I thought they could be used on the front line of the battlefield.So they would get the brunt end of things.Then I thought -hey they could be used as unabombers-then reality set in. They just might turn around and start killing our TRUE SOLDIERS who have shed blood,sweat,and tears amongst one another as a close knit family for however long they have & to jeopardize that by allowing a bad apple to fight right beside them is like spitting in their face.I just couldnt do it..

No. Most of the people on death row are killers. They have killed citizens without remorse. They would kill their fellow soldiers, without remorse, just to escape. Bad idea.

Yeah,I think so,they should make themselves useful,and serve their country,instead of wasting their lives in jails. But before they are sent,they should be made to pass a fitness test first. Do you remember seeing the movie THE DIRTY DOZEN?? ..Well,that's just one example of prisoners being used as cannon-fodder.

If my son were in the Marines, I'd hate to have his life depend upon some murderer who was just released from prison and was handed a high powered rifle.

In a way it makes more sense than putting innocent men on the front line. And the prisoners who are going to get executed anyway get to run a bit before being shot. Maybe they take out a couple of undesirables on the way. Human rights 50/50.

No way, they're people with nothing to lose.

I believe that would cause a morale issue and reduce the overall effectiveness of our military.

No. Criminals especially violent ones lack discipline which is essential to the survival of soldiers in combat and the success of carrying out their mission. Also a soldier needs to be able to trust the other soldiers in their squad out there in the field. I don't think too many soldiers would be willing to put their lives in the hands of a murderer. A successful military unit depends on teamwork. These criminals usually have a "me first screw everyone else" mentality that would undermine the goals of their fellow soldiers. Also if you think civilian casualties are bad now wait until you give a murderer with zero regard for human life access to heavy weaponry. They would also probably use it as an opportunity to escape. And finally the military's image is one of proud patriots serving their country. They don't need scum. Granted I know not all soldiers are perfect and some do things that are reprehensible but they don't need this. So in the end a unit comprised of death row inmates would be a complete liability.

who says they have to serve alongside anyone? Why not specific missions of guerilla warfare--in and out with a bunch of inmates? Let 'em go nuts on each other if they're that stupid.

would be better than sending you're next generation to be war fodder

who says they have to serve alongside anyone? what about guerilla warfare--send a bunch of inmates in and out. if they shoot each other up, then oh well.

i agree with jingle, send a squad of them out to do the work, if they kill eachother, too bad, if they succede, they keep at it and if they succede enough times they get to do life rather than death

Probably not. If they are insane enough to do something that would end them up on death row, then I don't think they'd be good for fighting in a war. Who knows what they would do! They might just take off and start killing women and children or something.