@Setanta,
Setanta wrote:
Well, to summarize, i oppose the death penalty for several reasons, all of which have been discussed already. The first is that there is no good evidence that the death penalty is a deterrent, against which notion i have also argued logically. Then there is the problem of false conviction. There is also the problem that condemning someone to execution leads to far more expense for the state than supporting someone incarcerated for life. Finally, there is the problem that i alluded to in my long post (which might not have been clear to everyone who bothered to read it), which is that "justice" is for sale, and the wealthy and the powerful are not subject to the same standards with regard to murder as are everyone else--and in fact, wealth and power can even distort the definition of what constitutes murder.
Nice concise summary ('specially for you
I agree with all that and would like to add;
I propose that no human being, or group of human being should give themselves permission to kill another, nor should they force, or allow another to do it for them. Why are your reasons better than Hitler's or Stalin's or the Chinese government today? You fight to restrain the power your government has over you, yet you grant them the power to kill you?
The death penalty demonstrates that killing people is an acceptable way to deal with a problem. Is that the kind of thinking you want to nurture?
Mostly, a person can only legally kill another in self-defense if there is a clear and immediate threat and they have no choice. People in groups, no matter how large, should hold themselves to the same principles. One reason they don't is that the responsibility is diluted by the numbers involved.
Some argu e that the death penalty is kinder than gaol. Perhaps they'd like to take a poll of the criminals mothers, see if the impact on them is also less.
I don't have data to prove this, but I'll also guess that the mere existence of the death penalty changes the outcome of trials. How many murderers go free, because a jury feared making the wrong call? How many leaned the other way, because the criminal scares them?
How many murderers, knowing that they'll soon be caught and face the death penalty, commit even more murders, then escape the whole situation by saving the last bullet? Once they've crossed the line, they've nothing left to restrain them. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
Countries around the world are gradually abolishing the death penalty, and organisations such as the UN and Amnesty are pushing for this to worldwide. The point I'm making here is that those who just looked stunned and say "Of course, we need the death penalty, there would be chaos otherwise" need to look a further afield and see how well some of us manage without it. It may be your preference, but it's certainly
not necessary.
Come on world, you stopped burning witches, you can do this too.
