(April 22, 2016 at 4:59 pm)Napoléon Wrote: Y'see, I used to think this. It was my main reason for opposing the death penalty.
But is it?
Anders Breivik? I'm for it in circumstances where we know without a shadow of a doubt the person is guilty. The problem is that in some cases we're more sure that the person is guilty than in others.
The problem comes in defining "without a shadow of a doubt" and having flawed human beings implement it. I'm sure every person that was sentenced to death was sentenced by a jury that believed he/she was guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt, but that hasn't stopped innocent people from being sentenced to death. We're just not capable with our current systems of properly implementing a death penalty. There's always room for error and corruption.
Besides, I would rather a million Breiviks wallow in prison for the remainder of their lives than have one innocent person put to death.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
