Countertop is rightly happy at the thought of another rabid dog put down, unable to bite society again. Zendo Deb is equally rightly worried about the possibility of government incompetence smoking the wrong guy.
I still maintain that the death penalty is appropriate for attempted rape, attempted homicide, or attempted assault, when meted out on the spot by the intended victim.
I'm often asked why I have this atavistic tendency. Is it a love of vengeance? Do I somehow think that killing the bad guy will return his victims to life? No, it actually stems from something more pragmatic than that: When someone has violated the basic rules of the monkey cage so flagrantly, there's only one surefire way to make certain that they won't do it again.
I tend to think that the death penalty should be granted to anyone who rapes, murders, or deals drugs (don't get me wrong, I think users should be let off scott free), as all of them try to destroy people's lives. Likewise, I don't mind the application to people who brutally attack another person either.
ReplyDeleteAfter all... what, if I remember right, almost 70% of violent crime is committed by repeat offenders? The fact is, if you kill then on the first go around, then they can't do it again.
Naturally, having exclusions for anyone who does so in an act of self defense, a pure accident, or where it was reasonably justified that they may act that way. Such as the crane operator who accidentally hits a switch and flattens the guy below, or if someone is caught in the act of adultry and gets killed for it (in Texas we used to say "They needed killing" in these circumstances).
But then again I also think that our justice system should allow the victim to select the penalty. Yeah, I know Voyager did an episode on a justice system like that, and they thought it was the most aweful thing, but personally I think it fits quite well.
I tend to think that the death penalty should be granted to anyone who rapes, murders, or deals drugs (don't get me wrong, I think users should be let off scott free), as all of them try to destroy people's lives. Likewise, I don't mind the application to people who brutally attack another person either.
ReplyDeleteAfter all... what, if I remember right, almost 70% of violent crime is committed by repeat offenders? The fact is, if you kill then on the first go around, then they can't do it again.
Naturally, having exclusions for anyone who does so in an act of self defense, a pure accident, or where it was reasonably justified that they may act that way. Such as the crane operator who accidentally hits a switch and flattens the guy below, or if someone is caught in the act of adultry and gets killed for it (in Texas we used to say "They needed killing" in these circumstances).
But then again I also think that our justice system should allow the victim to select the penalty. Yeah, I know Voyager did an episode on a justice system like that, and they thought it was the most aweful thing, but personally I think it fits quite well.
Then again I'm also all for bringing back chain gangs (let's make hard time actually mean something again)... after all, let's make them repay society for what they did, and removing things like TVs and the like from jail cells.
Sorry for the double post, I was having internet connectivity problems when I was posting.
ReplyDelete