At least I have a better understanding of your position now Terry. The problem I had is that you sent out what I perceived as mixed messages. Here you said....
I have said again and again that laws must be objective, not subjective. And rights end where another's rights are violated
Then you posted this URL extolling the wrongfulness of someone being locked up for 40 years...
theatlantic.com
Since laws are not objective when incarcerating people for life, your philosophy lacks cohesion imo. Just because you haven't killed someone doesn't mean you haven't wronged them just as severely. Is death better or worse than a life of imprisonment when one is wrongfully sentenced? Obviously, if the person is one day found innocent and allowed to get out, the answer is most likely death is worse. However, if the person never gets out and dies in jail, then they have been just as wronged by the system as being put to death.
On the other hand, the system of incarceration for life doesn't work as well as you suggest. Many guilty murderers are allowed to get out on early parole and kill again. So there is a cost to society for not killing them. In a perfect utopian world perhaps your system would be fairer and more just. Unfortunately, we have reality to deal with. And the reality is that early parolee's are let out and inflict damage on our society. Often times killing, raping and torturing many times the amount of people wrongfully put to death by the system. Therefore, killing them (when all reasonable measures of rightful prosecution have been exhausted) is a better solution then allowing them to sit in jail for twenty years, then get out and kill again.
To me the death penalty is about safeguarding innocent victims. It may not work as a deterrence, but since we can't trust the system to keep them locked up for life, it does prevent them from killing innocent people again.
If you can show me compelling evidence which suggests many times more people are innocently put to death by the system then are killed by murderers who have been allowed to go free, I might change my position. My assumption is just the opposite is true. Further, I believe it's not even a close call.
Michael |
