5 ms·
Perhaps it should instead increase as the average lifespan increases.
by MiddleEndian 8y ago
Perhaps it should instead increase as the average lifespan increases.
- wongarsu 8y agoWhich would imply that the punishment for killing a child should be more severe than the punishment for killing an old man. And that killing a cancer patient shouldn't be punished as harshly as killing a healthy person.
- magduf 8y agoThere is definitely a good argument there. A child has far more potential years of life left than an elderly person, so killing them seems worse. Perhaps that's one reason why we tend to think so badly of child murderers. Of course, in reality (at least the American judicial system), punishment is usually based more on other factors, such as motive. So premeditatedly killing an old man because you wanted to steal his stuff is punished more than killing a child purely by accident.
- MiddleEndian 8y agoFWIW, I don't really believe that the punishment should increase with increased lifespan, I was just giving a contradictory example based on different numbers.