48Highlander said:
He must be getting pretty aggrivated with you by now, so I'll try to explain what he means:
One of the arguments against capital punishment is that we may "execute an innocent person". The argument goes that, unless we can bring that person back to life, we shouldn't execute anyone.
Now, a similar analogy is one of war. You could also say that we should never kill anyone in war because we may accidentaly kill an innocent civilian. Therefore, unless we can bring that civilian back to life, we shouldn't be shooting at the enemy either.
In other words, neither position makes logical sense. Or, I suppose to the really messed-up tree-huggers, BOTH make perfect sense. Either way, you can't oppose the death penalty on those grounds, while supporting a nations right to go to war.
You get it now?
I'd be tempted to say that you've convinced me, as your argument seems to be pretty solid, and I can understand why you and others may be able to justify your opinons regarding this particular issue. And your confusion as to why I oppose your point of view is understandable in light of your reasons for support of the death penalty, especially since I've joined the CF as a member of the infantry and undoubtedly will be going to A'stan eventually.
However.....
I, personally, believe that there is a much higher degree of difference between the situations of combat and execution. Just because they have a single factor in common with each other (death), doesn't necessarily make them all that closely related.
In war, we use lethal force against those who would do the same to us. We do this because if we were to abandon our rifles and bombs, and instead adopt "less lethal" weapons, such as stun guns, our enemies aren't going to 'play fair' and lay down their rifles as well. The name of the game, so to speak, is Kill-or-be-Killed. As such, when civilians get caught in the crossfire, they get hurt, or killed.
In the 'fog of war' it's difficult to avoid such situations, though every effort is made to do so. But the luxury of being able to take one's time, and deliberate, each and every individual action that may or may not result in a mistake, does not exist. It's war, and it's a terrible thing, and mistakes result in the deaths of either your fellow soldiers or civilians, inaction is not an option. Action that results in accidents is unavoidable. I believe we've taken the route that leads down the path of the lesser of 2 evils. I don't lust for war, but I understand it's neccessity, and I believe that it should only be used as a tool to acheive an objective after all other viable alternatives have been exhausted.
Execution, on the other hand, is not a neccessity. We have viable alternatives, and the luxury of taking time and deliberating how much of what kind of time, with who may they interact/not interact with, in which kind of prison, and where. We aren't faced with the choice of 'kill or be killed.' If we deem them dangerous enough, we lock them away until the end of their natural lives, never to be free again (if you think men like Olson and Bernardo are ever going to be free, you're deluding yourself).
I think the death penalty satisfies some sort of visceral need for revenge, and serves no other purpose than that, and as such is not a moral, or ethical action to consider. We live in a progressive, and civil society, and if we are to remain so, we must abide by the values that we have set for ourselves. No society can safely entrust the enforcement of its laws to torture, brutality, or killing. Such methods are inherently cruel and will always mock the attempt to claok them in justice.
"The deliberate institutionalized taking of human life by the state is the greatest conceivable degradation to the dignity of the human personality." - American Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg