They should receive the greatest punishment. But really the punishment will come from inside themselves.

if capital punishment was getting their penis chopped off and shoved down their throats, yes. but no i don't believe in the death penalty.

i think capital punishment is not enough. They should be put in a room with people on death row for non-sex related crimes. They should then be left there to be raped and beaten.

This isn't going to sound right. Please take it how it is intended. If it is a "regular" rape, then clearly not. Whereas it is horrible, it is not a capital offense. If it is used as part of torture or extended abuse, then the combination of the other offenses and the rape should make it a capital offense.

It depends on the situation, but there should be very severe penalites, regardless. Capital punishment is almost always reserved for murderers. Rapists rarely receive a death sentence, but in some cases, especially for pedophiles, I believe it would be warranted.

It's an ethical question, but I don't believe in the death penalty.

Possibly, though I'm rather split on the issue. First we must define rape. Rape BY LAW is unwanted sexual intercourse where consent was not freely given. However, in many states it's 'rape' if you have intercourse with someone once they've had a certain amount of alcohol. Meaning that consent cannot be given by a drunk person. Meaning of course, that say for instance (grabbing this situation out of my ass here) lets say 'monica' and 'ken' get together, one night stand, drink, both are drunk, then have sex. Legally they could not have sex. Shall we execute them both? Now lets throw this in:a 9 year study of sexual abuse allegation showed that 40 percent plus were proven false. Not unprovable, out and out false. (Source:Kanin EJ. Arch Sex Behav. 1994 Feb;23(1):81-92 False rape allegations.) In 1985, a study of 556 rape allegations found that 27% accusers recanted when faced with a polygraph (which can be ordered in the military), and independent evaluation showed a false accusation rate of 60%. (Source: McDowell, Charles P., Ph.D. “False Allegations.” Forensic Science Digest, (publication of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations), Vol. 11, No. 4 (December 1985), p. 64.) Do I believe that those who actually committed rape should be executed? Yes, it's a terrible crime, but false accusations of rape are not rare, I listed two studies to back that up. Adding to that, if we call drunken sex rape, than I couldn't possibly say that rape should get the death penalty. Like all things in life, it's a complicated issue, a blanket penalty like this would do nothing but kill innocent people.

Why do so many of us label rape as the ultimate evil? It is not...and to give it the 'worst punishment possible' would make murder a joke, which by the sounds of what I'm hearing, already is. The whole purpose of a prison isn't to punish but to rehabilitate while keeping the public safe. Killing the incurably evil is fine with me, (and it looks like it's fine with a few of you as well), but to imediately label anyone as such is just plain ignorance.

Rapists should be castrated.

Serial rapists and pedophiles, yes. But not every person convicted of rape. Ultimately the answer should depend on recidivism. The college student who was having consensual sex but misunderstood the womans request to stop, or the guy who had what he thought to be consensual sex but it turns out the woman was too drunk to consent, has close to a 0% chance of repeating this crime.

No, it would motivate murder for silence

Crime should fit the punishment. Throw them in the Ape pit at the Zoo and let Gorilla Joe have his way.

They should be given the same treatment. End statement. Its no fun being raped.

I think that would make a rapist even more violent so as not to be detected. I think their penii needs to be super glued to a white line down the middle of a dark freeway for 2 hours a day, just to see if they survive. Or even to a lampost and encourage stoning. Hmmm...

on their first offence, they should have the word 'rapist' tatoo'd on their forehead to warn others. If he does it again then castrate him with no anaesthic.

FUCK YES.

YES!!! (I'm not talking the 1 or 2 year age difference for "statutory" rape when both parties consent either)

I think it should be an option in any violent crime.

No but I don't believe in capital punishment...I think they should be hung blowing in the breeze by their thinking part....

The Supreme Court has ruled that they should not. For better or worse, that's the law.

Ah, you read my blog. :) Yeah, it's nothing. Thanks for asking. I actually don't believe in hunting for sport myself. I was referring to how all animals (including but not limited to humans) do a lot of killing. Killing is an integral part of nature. Does this therefore mean that humans - who have moral reasoning - should behave as other animals do? Certainly, the answer must be "no". However, this does not necessarily connote that killing is wrong for humans either. I believe in killing something not to punish it, for you are right to say that a quick death is no real punishment at all, but to prevent it from doing mroe harm. The trouble here is that we are not anywhere near omniscient, and our judgements are often wrong. Hence, we can be sure that some of the death sentences we mete out will be unjust ones. Then again, all legal decisions stand a chance of being unjust, and the death penalty is - as you yourself have pointed out - not the worst punishment one could receive. It would suck big time for the victim's loved ones though - but that's true as well of locking someone up for life.

Hanging is to good for them! It is a good kick up the backside they need...

Yes

Captial punishment is too good for them. They need to be tortured first. Cover them in honey and pour in red ants.

Only if the rapist is Obama!

My opinion is yes.

Yes they should

Not even in the Bible did rape require the death sentence. What was required was for the man to marry the girl, which could be worse than death. If the father of the girl would not allow the man to marry his daughter, the man had to pay the bride price for a virgin or 50 Sheckles, about $12,000 in today's money.

From the idealistic point of view: No...because that punishment is not commensurate with the crime. That is: that punishment is significantly more harsh than is the crime. As much as the idea of rape appalls me, that crime does not deserve death. *** From a more practical point of view: it might be beneficial to apply the death penalty in such cases because (a) it might provide a greater deterrent to would-be rapists (b) it might reduce the number of people in penitentiary (who are there are taxpayer expense). The problem with such thinking is that the same practicality applies to lesser crimes, such as (for example) burglary or drug dealing or embezzlement. Where do you draw the line? Traditionally in the West "the line" is drawn such that the penalty is not more harsh than the crime.