On Fri, Feb 11, 2005 at 06:28:45PM -0600, Matthew Hunter wrote: > On Fri, Feb 11, 2005 at 10:39:00AM -0800, Steve Brust <skzb at dreamcafe.com> wrote: > > 1. Backward nations have not yet abandoned the barbaric practice of > > capital punishment. > > There's nothing barbaric about executing people who have > committed sufficiently dire crimes. Society has no obligation > to support them once they have proven themselves unwilling to > live by even the most basic rules of society. To be honest, it's > an option that should be a lot *easier* than it is presently. > For example, I think it would be reasonable to apply the death > penalty to any case of deliberate, premeditated murder. > > Now, making sure the person to be executed it actually guilty is > another matter. Yes, but that "BUT" is a doozy. The fact is we can't guarantee it, as the "beyond a reasonable doubt" requirement has shown in the face of DNA evidence over the last 10 years. Given that lack of certainty, _I_ believe that capital punishment is unsupportable. (The philosophical argument that deals with it is another matter, but this single practical argument renders it moot, IMO. ) -Jot -- Jot Powers <books at bofh.com> http://www.bofh.com/books/ "I'm upping my standards, so up yours!" -Pat Paulsen (1927-1997), Presidential Campaign Slogan