Should a thief have his hand chopped off?

Not for 1 or 2 thefts. Any more and it should be given serious thought. A whole series of thefts - yes. Saudi Arabia can teach us.

No

How would this be a deterrent? A person who steals dose not expect to be caught.

But just 'cos they don't expect 2 b caught, that doesn't mean they won't be... it may be a deterrent -- you know -- "but what if I get caught?" I'm not entirely sure.

They give Medroxy Progesterone to rapists. (hasn't affected me any though (transgender hormones))

Whoever said it was meant as a deterrent?

No....just throw him in jail for a few years!!

No, thats cruel.

No, but he should repay the people he stole from for everything he took.

No no...

I think "draconian" is a really cool word.

Only if he steals from me.

Ew! No no no no no! That would be so painful! I'd hate to see what people who believe this want for the punishment for murder!

No, of course not. We're not in some retarded muslim country.

If it is cancerous, and the oonly option, then yes. Otherwise, no. Every man has stolen something at some point in life, we are all thieves.

I don't go along with that brand of justice, although I'm not strongly opposed to it being practiced in cultures where everyone is familiar with the penalties.

I do agree a thief should be punished, But not so far as to cutting ones hands off. A good jail sentence will do.

The only effective deterrent to crime is to make the punishment out weigh the risk of being caught!

That's nonsense. If that were true there would be no murder in states with the death sentence.

Give me a break.

kit kat?

Yeah both hands.

I'm partial to Twix myself, but they don't have a fancy slogan.

Let the punishment fit the crime I say...no matter how you get it done just make sure that you keep that in mind

Perhaps a pinky finger?

And a murderer should have his head cut off. And a rapist should have his....

They essentially do that already by presribing medroxy progesterone to convicted rapists.

Well, I do believe that would be a deterrent. My daughter, many years ago had a friend whose parents visited a small country that used very serious tactics for thievery. She told me, you could leave your purse lay open on a table in an outdoor restaurant and feel relatively safe that no one would touch it. I like that. I think cutting off a hand for stealing is a bit harsh, however, it seems to get the right results, less thievery. There are habitual thieves and there are a one time only thief, how do they judge? Do they cut off the hand on the first offense? Or what? No matter, it is harsh.

It would be, I think, a great deterrent but after you chop his/her hand off he/she would be considerably less employable which would only force them into a life of crime.

That's silly.

This is still in practice in some countries even today, and a jolly good deterent it is too

When someone commits a crime, then serves their jail time, they've paid their price. If we cut their hand off or do anything else in such a permanent sense, they have no motivation to reform themselves and lead a normal life.

It's human nature to want what others have. Murderers would get hardly anything compared to this.

What do we cut off after the second offense?

Their other hand.

hell why not he can then only do it once

twice

If he manages to do it a third time, there should be no punishment. He's clearly earned whatever he stole.

That's a bit excessive. I believe child rapists who kill their victim should be tortured then killed.

No. This isn't the Old Testament. Nor should a slanderer have his or her tongue chopped off, nor should a murderer be murdered.

Of course not... thieves are people too. It's the crimes we hate, not the people. I'm sure there are less harsh deterrents

I'm with analog.. hehe

absolutely not. that would be a sadistic course of action, and that is unacceptable. it is barbaric "justice" such as that on the part of the government, that leads to revolutions. We can easily punish without torturous actions. And besides theft is not even a crime that hurts someone else, so even if we did by some chance allow some form of cruel and unusual punishment in this country, that particular crime would certainly not warrant such a severe punishment.

Yeah if a thief gets caught they should chop his hands off. But dont stop there. His,feet,legs,and then farther up until it gets real nasty and they have to chop his balls off.

And what about child thieves?

Most of us don't live in backwards, third world countries that punish criminals like this.