Betrayal and disgrace
Norsefire said:
Is money the only justification for no execution here?
Depends on who you ask. If you read through the topic, you'll find plenty of other arguments.
In the meantime, Norsefire, would you be so kind as to help me understand a phenomenon that we see around Sciforums from time to time?
It happens every once in a while that a debate will be taking place with diverse arguments given for a certain viewpoint; in this case, that viewpoint is the argument against the death penalty. Some of the
arguments (note the plural) include:
• Capital punishment is barbaric.
• The U.S., by executing criminals, is in the distinguished company of nations it would vilify.
• The innocent should not be mistakenly executed.
• Capital punishment is expensive; the alternative is to be less careful—see preceding point.
• Capital punishment does not deter crime.
And then one day someone makes what is, ultimately, a superficial and emotionally-driven argument, such as, "
I'm sick of paying for them to vacation in jail. Fry 'em all." Someone responds with the point that it is expensive to get it right and make sure we're executing the right person. And
then—and this is what puzzles me—someone pops off with a question like, "Is money the only justification for no execution here?"
It just seems that the question ignores the rest of the topic.
Help me out here, Norsefire ... while the money is mostly a concern of people who think prison is "a vacation", what in the world would suggest that money is "the only justification for no execution here"?
Does it matter what is more expensive?
Only to those who would appeal to the pocketbook with silly arguments that depend on treating prison like a "vacation" or other privilege. Consider
Kadark's question: "
What the hell
has jail ever solved?" Given that prison—allegedly a house of "correction" or rehabilitation—tends to cultivate criminals (after all, rehabilitation so that an offender can make a useful contribution to society is "soft") so that many of the people we sent to prison for mere possession of drugs emerged prepared to commit other, more serious crimes, is seems rather disingenuous to call prison a "vacation".
Ask yourself, what is more fair for a criminal who massacres and rapes a-plenty, a vacation in jail (as sandy puts it, and I would say so), or an execution?
A chance at proper correction and rehabilitation would be best, but people are willing to believe that's too complicated and too expensive to ever work as long as it means nobody can call them "soft on crime".
This is a common quirk of a group of sociopolitical assertions often associated with one another. If people keep insisting on the inappropriate "solution" until the problem gets out of hand, the inappropriate "solution" becomes more attractive. In other words, if we administrate the prisons badly enough in order to not be "soft on crime", the poor result might compel more people might take the emotional bait and support state-sanctioned homicide.
It's a sellout. A betrayal. It's a disgraceful way to go about this business called justice.