DjangoCribbs
Well-Known Member
1. The Death Penalty is Immoral
I'll start of with the most obvious one: that the death penalty is unjust. How can the state ever have the power to end somebody's life? And how can you be 100% sure the person you're executing is guilty?
2. The Death Penalty is Pointless
Perhaps I could grit my teeth and put up with the death penalty if it served some sort of practical purpose, but alas, it does not.
3. The Death Penalty is Expensive
My third and final argument is that the death penalty is costly.
Before I make my own stance known I'd like to counter this because it's rather weak. I removed much of the waffle, it doesn't change anything.
1. Sometimes you can be 100%. Sometimes you can have unquestionable evidence and sometimes the buggers are open and honest about it. Do a Google search on "Jack Mesrine".
2. It stops a serial killer from continuing with their chosen career path. It guarantees that a recidivist will no longer cidivist. If their crime is suitably horrific then I think we could consider that a grand practical purpose.
3. It's only as expensive as you make it. Few thousand years ago we still used rocks and sticks. Give me a lead pipe and I'll, relatively humanely, kill all the confirmed sickos you got for the cost of getting me clothes drycleaned.
As you may be able to tell, from a personal viewpoint I am all for the death penalty. If I KNOW that someone has murdered several people purely out of hate or desire, or maybe someone who gets their kicks in life from raping and murdering children... These are extreme examples and thankfully rare compared to the amount of minor burglars in the world but it does happen, sadly... then I think the best, most practical and prudent way forward is to cave their skull in.
From a social viewpoint I am dead set against capital punishment because justice systems are far too flawed. And while he opposes me ideologically, Ian Hislop makes a superb case against capital punishment on a UK show called Question Time. YouTube it, I'd link it but am restricted from posting links at present.