The death penalty may be constitutional, but is it justified?
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The United States Supreme Court has refused to overturn the exec
But there is a broader issue at stake here. Recall the justifications for punishment – incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, and deterrence. The death penalty does incapacitate criminals – terminally – but so does a secure prison. It is certainly an expression of society’s disgust and vengeance (retribution).
But does it deter? Deterrence depends in part on the probability and severity of punishment. The death penalty is so seldom exercised in the United States that the case for its deterrence effect is a questionable one.
Perhaps the deterrence effect would be more meaningful if people were executed more often. But there is a very dark undertone to this suggestion: the justice system is by no means infallible, and entrusting
matters of life or death to it does carry real risks.
And even if we sincerely believe that there are monsters among us that don’t belong among the living, we must seriously consider whether the danger of wrongfully executing the innocent is outweighed by the benefit of ensuring the guilty get their just deserts. The cost of retribution and deterrence may not be worth the benefit.
-Charles
Image by Flickr user johnmuk used under a Creative Commons Attribution License
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2 Responses to “The death penalty may be constitutional, but is it justified?”
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Deterrence
All prospects of a negative outcome deter some. It is a truism. The death penalty, the most severe of criminal sanctions, is the least likely of all criminal sanctions to violate that truism.
25 recent studies finding for deterrence,www(DOT)cjld(DOT)org/deathpenalty/DPDeterrence.htm
“Deterrence and the Death Penalty: A Reply to Radelet and Lacock”
http(COLON)//homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/02/deterrence-and-the-death-penalty-a-reply-to-radelet-and-lacock.aspx
“Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let’s be clear”
http(COLON)//prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
“The Death Penalty: More Protection for Innocents”
http(COLON)//homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/05/the-death-penalty-more-protection-for-innocents.aspx
If, beyond a doubt, a person takes another persons life ( outside of combat and self defence), then let the penalty run.
Did the victim get a trial, retrial, a “life” sentence?, the answer is always no. But the criminal always gets another chance, and often gets to fight for his/hers right to live,often for years on end, on the taxpayers dime.
Were was the victims right to life?
Granted, many people have been wronged in the courts, but in todays day and age, with the advancements in science, it should also not take us years to figure it out. Is this the right or wrong person who did the crime?, and then end it, either by saying sorry and letting them go, or pushing the button/flipping the switch and ending the sentence. It is not a deterrence to the criminal if that person can stay healthy and safe, with multiple groups all trying to save his life, often for very extended time frames v/s one to two years to prove the case fully and then…click, game over.