I have trouble though separating the issue of feminism/human rights with the idea of abolishing the death penalty... having discussions that isolate it to 'imagine it is here to stay' can extremely limit a conversation.
Thanks. I really do not think you can talk about executing someone in particular without addressing when and whether execution is right at all. I think it can be in some rare circumstances, but I don't like seeing it applied in my home country, the U.S., because it is applied so unjustly and along such sharply racialized lines.
Well, obviously, you can't talk about executing someone, whether or not it's justified, without discussing on some level the principles according to which a democratic society can consider killing anyone, period.
For me, I don't believe in execution unless the crime is either one that effectively creates a state of war between that person and the government punishing him (i.e., treason or being a spy), or the criminal is the kind of person who poses a continuing threat to society if left alive (sort of like a mad dog - remember that scene in To Kill a MockingbirdSo I'd have to ask myself, would a child rapist pose a continuing threat to society, even locked up in a life sentence
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I don't believe in the death penalty, but I DO believe in giving maximum sentences to child rapists. I think child rape should carry the same sentence as murder, and for me that would be life in prison.
agreed. unfortunately, our prisons are filled up with dope smokers and prostitutes, so it's tough to find a place for actual criminals to stay for a long time.
You can't discuss whether the death penalty is appropriate for one specific crime without discussing it in a more general way. The death penalty is wrong. End of story. It's not a question of whether a child rapist deserves to die a horrible death, undoubtedly he does. Rather, it's a question of whether we consider oursleves to be "civilised", whether the justice system always gets it right (we know they don't), whether there are inequalities in that justice system that see more black than white people on death row etc etc etc. I am very glad that I live in a country that has abolished the death penalty.
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For me, I don't believe in execution unless the crime is either one that effectively creates a state of war between that person and the government punishing him (i.e., treason or being a spy), or the criminal is the kind of person who poses a continuing threat to society if left alive (sort of like a mad dog - remember that scene in To Kill a MockingbirdSo I'd have to ask myself, would a child rapist pose a continuing threat to society, even locked up in a life sentence ( ... )
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