I was asked that a day or two ago. Here is my answer:
Well, in theory I am against it.
In reality, the way our justice system works, it is much too expensive.
I do think there is a "sort of" place for it.
- Not as revenge
- Not as punishment
- Not as a sop to please the hating masses
However, if a system could be devised to sort out the totally sociopathic people who prey on the weak like children, women sleeping in their beds at home, etc, to try them, convict them, give them one appeal -- and then euthanize them quickly and humanely, I would be for it.
Why, I wonder, does society foot the bill for 99 year sentences, or 164 year sentences, when there is zero hope of a reversal of the finding of guilt, and zero hope that the person will change for the better?
So, I guess I have a mixed answer to that, as to many things.
In an imperfect world, however, with imperfect people serving on juries and imperfect, even bigoted people, serving at the discretion of the wealthy, I am against the death penalty.
I'm against it too, primarily for two reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst, to me, it is hypocritical to say "do as I say, not as I do". In other words, you can't consistently say that you're both for and against killing people, depending on the circumstances.
Second, I subscribe to the philosophy that it is better to let ten guilty people go free than it is to put one innocent person to death. Along the same lines, DNA evidence is now regularly exonerating wrongly imprisoned people and even those on death row. We have demonstrated over and over again that we're in no position to play God.
Jeff W.