I am saying that the fact of mistake, by itself, cannot invalidate the justice system. Since this argument started with the fact that we do not shut down the driving of motor vehicles, even though we know there will be some (accidental) deaths, I believe it is clear that the fact of mistake cannot invalidate the death penalty.
Now, if there were reason to think that mistakes were too common, that would alter the matter, just as we might decide that motor vehicles were too dangerous if there were a one in ten chance of dying in the course of a year. However,I have seen no evidence that mistakes in the administration of justice, generally, or in the prosecution of capital cases, specifically, are unendurably frequent.
Of course, some people find the idea of even one mistake too horrible to contemplate, but that belies that they accept the fact that statistically, many legitimate activities entail a low risk of mistake leading to unwarranted death, and that pretty inevitably, some people will die, among the 10s or 100s of thousands involved in such activities, like driving, wading in the ocean, flying, and so forth. |
