[speaker001:] okay capital punishment
[speaker002:] all right okay what's your views on it
[speaker001:] um for myself I'm I'm personally against it but we seem to have a duality of in this country where most states in theory have it but but but do not use it
[speaker002:] correct okay well I'm for it I think there are certain crimes that definitely uh call for it I I feel like that child molestation and murder I don't see any sense in someone living that does things like that I I don't feel like they're a benefit to society in any way and of course Texas has it but they very seldom you know put it into effect so instead all of our prisons are full of people on you know
[speaker001:] okay well
[speaker002:] a lot of people on death row
[speaker001:] uh Texas uses it as about as much as any other state
[speaker002:] well uh yeah which is not very often right
[speaker001:] Texas is a big state uh here in Maryland to the capital punishment law people are sometimes sentenced to capital punishment but no one no one is has actually has the sentence carried out uh I'd certainly
[speaker002:] what do they do just keep them on death row for the rest of their life um-hum
[speaker001:] um-hum I think so I there there are a lot there or a fair number uh
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] in fact I think that it it affected the sentence though capital punishment is available the sentence of life without possibility of parole uh has become a common one and it's being being used much more
[speaker002:] do you have the overcrowding in your prisons that we are facing down here
[speaker001:] uh I don't know the exact numbers but but yes prisons are overcrowded
[speaker002:] I know that we have you know really in fact they're they're releasing people uh that are in there for you know not major crimes but uh robberies and assault and things like that and because they don't have room which then they're coming back on the streets and of course doing it again and um you know so we're having problems in in that way and I know that there are some cases that uh you know capital punishment does not fit the crime and there are extenuating circumstances on certain types um but I have to say that I'm honestly for it
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] uh almost that eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
[speaker001:] okay you're you're certainly in the majority uh at least in this country
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] uh we are I guess the only one of the major Western nations currently with capital punishment
[speaker002:] I know they use it very um they do not have it in Europe as I understand
[speaker001:] no at least not in Western Europe probably not in Eastern Europe these days either um there are many reasons for it but they they certainly have lower crime rates and lower murder rates
[speaker002:] yes you wonder what their you know how they manage to do that
[speaker001:] well in part it's uh it's the nature of societies perhaps more homogeneous society in many cases uh arguably if arguably is because of of uh of uh welfare state benefits though I tend to be we tend to be skeptical
[speaker002:] well England has uh don't they have a large uh fairly large welfare
[speaker001:] yes oh there's no question that that they that uh you know they they've you know all kinds of cradle to grave uh programs welfare programs providing for everyone some way I I I however the question is is that making the difference
[speaker002:] oh I don't I don't know but we have a lot of welfare programs and if both do and they tend to have less crime you wonder if that has anything to do with it then
[speaker001:] oh
[speaker002:] you know or is it uh in our society people are brought up over here thinking that you know everybody owes them something
[speaker001:] um I think I think that idea is even even more common in Western Europe
[speaker002:] oh do you
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] well that's interesting I would not have I would not have said that I would have said that it was more prevalent here in the United States that's an interesting theory I'm not that familiar you know I've only been over there a couple of times and I'm not that familiar with uh
[speaker001:] me too
[speaker002:] that all I know is that for instance we were in Germany in uh