[ossyrial]

> There's really no such thing.

Which, in my opinion, is a fantastic argument against the death penalty.

"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends." - Gandalf

[Aaronstotle]

I am currently of the belief that the death penalty should be reserved for the most extreme of the most extreme circumstances. The Boston Bomber & The Park School Shooter are two prime examples.

There is a very high burden of proof for both of them and to my knowledge, no doubts as to their guilt. I personally find it morally reprehensible individuals like themselves are still gifted with life after the lives they ruined.

Maybe this is a mindset I will grow out of as I grow older.

[noworriesnate]

I once met a man who told me he had killed his neighbor once. Here's the story:

His neighbor was a kleptomaniac. He constantly broke in and stole stuff from the man I was talking to.

The man I was talking to constantly reported it to the police, who said they could do nothing unless the man broke in.

The man I was talking to eventually caught the thief breaking in, at which point he held him at gunpoint until the police came and arrested the thief.

The man served his time in prison, eventually got out and went right back to his thieving ways.

The man I was talking to waited until the guy broke in, then shot him to death.

Problem solved, but what a stupid and roundabout way of solving it.

[seec]

Well yeah, the problem with modern justice is that it doesn't really work. It's a tool for use by the powerful, besides that for common people there is no real justice.

I once got a lot of stuff stolen from me; long story but I could identify the perpetrators with 100% confidence. At the police station they showed me quite a lot of grids of photo mugshots, unsurprisingly I found the thieves. But then the officer told me that one of them had been caught 17 times, and yet here he was, still stealing stuff. I was asked to be a witness to make a case, I refused because clearly justice wasn't working at all so what's the point?

I am pretty sure that this person will continue his ways until he dies but society is unwilling to recognize this reality and "justice" is those kinds of people getting a free pass at the expense of law-abiding citizens.

Meanwhile if you are caught driving too fast you will get an insane fee, car seized, and permit revoked. "Justice" is very nice to criminal, but always hard on weak people who have no choice, funny thing that we call it justice.

[edanm]

I completely agree. One of several reasons I'm against the death penalty.

Then again, it's not like I'm super happy about someone being in prison for their whole life, if they're innocent. But practically speaking, there needs to be some way to incarcerate people.