Your post reminds me of my train of thought - the appeals process is very lengthy, for good reason, because we don't want to execute innocent people. I don't know how long it takes on average, but I know it takes years, maybe ten years? What I don't understand is why we don't just leave them locked up forever. The length of time between act and execution is so long that I doubt the fear of execution acts as much of a disincentive, more than imprisonment, I mean. I believe it's much more likely to be incarcerated than executed if one commits murder, so murderers fear, if they fear anything, being locked up forever.
No one really thinks they are going to die, do they?
So after this person has languished in jail for a decade, he is executed for something that is so remote in time that he has forgotten it, not to mention the fact that people want to deny and suppress things they are ashamed of. The only people who remember anymore are the families and friends of the victims. Truly, what do they get? Retribution. For truly heinous crimes, the state demonstrates its abhorrence by eliminating the wrong-doer.
That's really what the death penalty is for.
And one's reaction to the death penalty, in my opinion, depends on whether you think that the state should be in the business of retribution. |
