The Death Penalty or Life Meaning Life

[MMI]

But I do have to say that there are evil people in this world. People who are a threat to anyone they may meet. A Charles Manson or a Ted Bundy or a John Gacy should never, ever be permitted even to think about parole or freedom. They should be kept away from the rest of society permanently. Yes, a true life sentence could accomplish this ...

Up to this point we are in complete accord, but beyond it, our opinions diverge. I cannot support the execution, even for Manson ... even for Stalin or Hitler, to be honest (although I would not have stood on my principles in those particular instances).

I do believe in rehabilitation, and I would hold up the release of a reformed criminal as a success story for the justice system - just as a hanging must be condemned as a failure. What about the rehabilitation of a murderer? I submit that it is virtually certain that most would never want to kill again, and that they could safely be released upon conviction, but for the need to make an example of them pour encourager les autres. The rest might represent a risk to society, and they will need to be kept incarcerated for a very long time.

I am never impressed by pleas from the victim's family for revenge (they call it "justice"): it is nothing other than destructive. Nobody gains. The victim's worst and darkest desires are pandered to, but left unsated. The killer dies but that does not revive the victim, nor does it relieve the pain endured by those left behind. A "balance" is restored - an eye for an eye - but that just leaves two partially blinded people. Balance is not restored, but a new, worse, standard is set instead.

[DuncanONeil]

There is absolutely no way to determine that ANY criminal has "rehabilitated" while they remain in custody. Add to that that one can not recover from murder ...

Up to this point we are in complete accord, but beyond it, our opinions diverge. I cannot support the execution, even for Manson ... even for Stalin or Hitler, to be honest (although I would not have stood on my principles in those particular instances).

I do believe in rehabilitation, and I would hold up the release of a reformed criminal as a success story for the justice system - just as a hanging must be condemned as a failure. What about the rehabilitation of a murderer? I submit that it is virtually certain that most would never want to kill again, and that they could safely be released upon conviction, but for the need to make an example of them pour encourager les autres. The rest might represent a risk to society, and they will need to be kept incarcerated for a very long time.

I am never impressed by pleas from the victim's family for revenge (they call it "justice"): it is nothing other than destructive. Nobody gains. The victim's worst and darkest desires are pandered to, but left unsated. The killer dies but that does not revive the victim, nor does it relieve the pain endured by those left behind. A "balance" is restored - an eye for an eye - but that just leaves two partially blinded people. Balance is not restored, but a new, worse, standard is set instead.