RE: The Death Penalty - are you for or against it and why?
October 18, 2011 at 9:31 am
(This post was last modified: October 18, 2011 at 9:32 am by ElDinero.)
(February 18, 2011 at 10:53 am)Thor Wrote: With the technology we have today (forensics, DNA, video cameras, etc...) we can be nearly 100% certain that the accused is guilty.
I'm coming into this thread late, and this post is from like the third page, so apologies if this has already been talked about.
There's two things about the above statement that I don't like. Number one is that it's a lie, and number two is that it isn't good enough.
Firstly, I believe I read that in the USA alone, about 1 in 5 executions are later found to be in error. That's a staggeringly high number. So forget this notion that we can be 'nearly 100% certain'. Secondly, even if it were true, I wouldn't be any more impressed. 'Nearly' 100% isn't close enough whatsoever. One incorrect execution is too many.
To me, none of it matters terribly because I am completely opposed to the notion of a death sentence. But to say it's a good idea because it's a reliable system is just provably false.
