Capital punishment: a capital idea
Jan 25th, 2011 by Unamused
The death penalty ought to be applied to all murderers, be they sad, bad, or mad. (Even the sad ones shouldn’t be unleashed on the world.)
We are under no ethical obligation to bill taxpayers for their “three hots and a cot” in prison. We are, however, under an ethical obligation to put them down like rabid dogs (the criminals, not the taxpayers). The analogy is not intended to be inflammatory; I believe it is accurate.
The only problem is: how can we streamline the criminal justice system’s process — how can we kill murderers faster — while keeping innocent deaths to a minimum? Yes, I am willing to accept a few slip-ups. (You can’t make an omelet, et cetera.) The only relevant question is, what will kill more innocent people, capital punishment or the lack of thereof? On the basis of the available evidence, I’ve come down hard on the socially unacceptable side of that dilemma.
Along those lines, links I’ll re-read at work today: one, two, three, four.
Incidentally, the death penalty is not racist, but blacks do commit much more capital crimes per capita.
And yes, I do sometimes spontaneously crank out a post on some pseudo-random subject in ten minutes or so, with no advance preparation. If this displeases you in some way, please enjoy this video of the Ramones.
