Re: Death penalty

On Mon, 8 Nov 2010, pcg wrote:

> > So you only see the death penalty as vengeance?
>
> Of course, as that's precisely what it is. It serves no useful social 
> purpose, neither as a deterrent nor as an implementation of justice. It 
> *is* more economical than imprisonment, but that's not the same as being 
> useful (and, at any rate, the question of economics has no place in a 
> debate about taking human life).
>
> The death penalty has no function other than to serve as a 
> state-sanctioned act of vengeance, which provides closure for those 
> deprived and satisfaction for those interested.

FWIW, I can at least respect death-penalty-as-deterrent as an *argument*, 
even though I don't find it particularly persuasive any more.

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