(November 13, 2010 at 12:31 pm)Chuck Wrote: I do not believe death penalty has any genuine additional deterrence effect against the sort of crimes to which they are applied in the western world as judged from the risk calculus of committing the crime.
I don't think the death penalty works as a deterrent, either. I do feel it (as a concept) works as a punishment and as a decidedly effective way to rid society of of dangerous predators. The problem is obviously the chance that an innocent person will be executed. So, while I agree with executing those that commit truly heinous acts (rape, child molestation, murder (with malice and forethought), listening to Nickelback, etc), it is very important to be quite sure that the person is, in fact, guilty... beyond a shadow of a doubt.
With that in mind, I don't mind if it takes several years to actually get around to the execution, but I think there should be a limit. For example, give the condemned and the prosecution five years to either overturn the guilty verdict (prove innocence) or find enough evidence to remove all doubt (prove guilt). If either side fails, the condemned spends the rest of his/her life in prison. Solitary, preferably.
