Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by pdonis 1962 days ago
To add to my previous response to this: while I do think it's justified to imprison a convicted murderer, I do not think it's justified to force someone imprisoned for murder to undergo, say, brain surgery that is claimed to remove their propensity to murder.
1 comments
Layke1123 1962 days ago
So forcing them to do everything else is fine, just as long as no one touches the brain. Removing a foot ok though? What about the death penalty? That can be done without rearranging the brain.
link
pdonis 1962 days ago
> forcing them to do everything else is fine, just as long as no one touches the brain.

I have made no such claim. You keep attacking straw men instead of addressing what I'm actually saying.

> Removing a foot ok though?

I have made no such claim.

> What about the death penalty?

I have already pointed out that the natural consequence (i.e., in a state of nature if there is no society) of attacking someone else for no good reason can be death. So imposing death as a penalty for a sufficiently heinous crime seems to me to be justifiable in principle, if you are sure to a moral certainty that the person did the crime.

Where our current system falls down horribly is in that last part: we impose the death penalty when we are not even close to meeting the strict standard of moral certainty that I just stated.

link
Layke1123 1962 days ago
Incorrect. You willingly lock people up for premeditated murder even if the murder did not happen. If I hire a hit man, and they turn out to be an FBI undercover agent, I am now in jail not for committing murder but trying to commit murder.
link
pdonis 1962 days ago
Yes, conspiracy to commit murder is also a crime under our current legal system. Do you not think it should be? If not, why not? Instead of name calling, how about some actual arguments?
link
Layke1123 1961 days ago
Where did I ever name call you? My position is if you have thoughts to carry out murder and actually show actions that indicate your thoughts might become reality, they can absolutely be used as evidence in the court to convict you of conspiracy to convict murder without ever having to have actually committed murder.

By your whole argument, this person shouldn't be held criminally responsible UNTIL murder has actually occurred.

link