jtftaru wrote:
I made the very simple point that if someone's guilt has been established quickly and easily for a heinous crime then I have no problem with the death penalty being applied.
In response to that very simple observation, all you have done in return is bleat about failing systems and instances where guilt may not be established.
In response to that very simple observation, all you have done in return is bleat about failing systems and instances where guilt may not be established.
I have no real objections to capital punishment as a theory. I could be convinced that certain crimes are heinous enough that death is fitting. I also know I depart from some others here on this point but I'm willing to be friendly with them even if they're wrong.
However, before you go killin' folks, you need a system to determine who you're gonna be a-killin'. Despite what I might think of it in theory, to quote one of my favorite political philosophers and most important influence on my life ever:
Homer Simpson wrote:
In theory, communism works. In theory.
The system is where it breaks down. Capital punishment, if you allow for controls to avoid executing innocents, is an unwieldy expensive beast with very little (if any) upside and still a degree of fallibility that can result in unrepairable harm. If you streamline it by eliminating controls, I can't support it because it subverts what I consider a just system of law.
Quote:
In order for a thread on a message board to work properly, you need to read what someone is saying and reply to that specific thing.
[...]
If you have something to say to me, it needs to be in response to that point. Then I can respond to you and we can have a conversation. As someone once said, 'See how it works?'
[...]
If you have something to say to me, it needs to be in response to that point. Then I can respond to you and we can have a conversation. As someone once said, 'See how it works?'
Threads are like children. You give birth to them, nurture them, point them in a direction... and how they mature is anyone's guess.