Actually, this subject veers dangerously close to the "no religious debates" rule. Not because it's based on religion, but because that's how seriously some people take it.israel67 wrote:Oh no ... I'd sworn not to get into politics ....
I agree 99.9%. Not quite 100%, because I believe the death penalty is justified as punishment for certain crimes. I also believe that "beyond a reasonable doubt" is not nearly sufficient for the state to kill someone. "Beyond any doubt" should be the minimum standard for the death penalty. And since none of us are omnipotent, there will always be doubt. At least, there will always be doubt in the minds of anyone who isn't already pre-disposed to pull the trigger.OK .. briefly.
You can shoot someone to protect life. It's called self defence. Once the threat is over, i.e. the BG is running away, would you shoot him?
So if you wouldn't kill someone who has ceased to be a threat ten seconds ago and is running away, how is it OK to kill him ten years later when he's been inside a cell (and thus by definition not a threat to anyone)?
Not forgetting that we cannot derogate to the state, rights and powers which we do not have as individuals. If we can't kill except in self defence, then neither can the state.
If anyone believes that everyone who is executed for a capital crime must have been guilty, I suggest looking at The Innocence Project. This is not a bunch of lefties trying to save the guilty from being executed; they're principled people trying to make sure that the wrongly-convicted are set free.
The number of wrongful convictions is shocking. The new Dallas DA, Craig Watkins, has actively sought to overturn convictions won by his predecessors, where exculpatory evidence was withheld from the defense. In some cases that evidence actually proved innocence.
Radly Balko has featured a number of stories about wrongful convictions. Many of them were based on downright fraudulent work by a medical examiner who would ask police what the cause of death was, before issuing his ruling. His office processed 2-3 times the maximum amount of autopsies allowed by the forensic licensing boards.
Let me make it clear: being opposed to the death penalty is NOT the same as thinking murders/rapists/child molesters should go free. I would rather any of the above go free, than an innocent man be put to death.