5 ms·

How many innocent people do you figure it is reasonable to execute, say, per year?

peteretep 7y ago
This needs qualifying with "vs subjecting to death row", where the average tenure is 15 years. I think I'd personally rather a speedy execution for a crime that I didn't do rather than 15 years on death row and then exoneration. In addition: 25% of death row prisoners die of natural causes (via Wikipedia). I think if I supported the death penalty, I think I'd be comfortable finding out that 5% of executions were of innocent people. If I was religious, I'd be willing to accept a much higher number.
- rfrey 7y ago
  That position is appalling to me, but I’m impressed by your intellectual honesty and how you answer the question head on.
  - peteretep 7y ago
    I am always mildly surprised to find out how much my opinion on the sanctity of life (eg: a low regard for such) differs from other people's. Making someone suffer unnecessarily seems unconscionable to me, where being dead doesn't seem like a huge big deal.
    - imtringued 7y ago
      So you're saying if you torture someone until they hit the breaking point it is morally the right thing to kill them? Some people's tolerance level is much lower than torture. Would it be acceptable to kill rape victims? After all, being dead doesn't seem like a huge big deal.
      - peteretep 7y ago
        I'm not sure I really follow your reasoning in any of those, sorry. What I will say is: I firmly believe the dead do not care that they're dead, are explicitly not suffering, and that we're all going to die. The suffering associated with death is the suffering associated with the survivors and the suffering in being told you're going to die.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
RHSeeger 7y ago
This reads like what you really mean is "it's never ok to execute an innocent person". How much money do you figure it is reasonable to spend to avoid the risk of killing one innocent person? How many people is it reasonable to let be killed/raped/etc because guilty people were kept alive? I don't think "it's never ok to sacrifice an innocent person" is the right answer.
- peteretep 7y ago
  > How many people is it reasonable to let be killed/raped/etc because guilty people were kept alive? You need to show a strong deterrent effect of the death penalty for this to be a reasonable line of argument. In addition, you'll find that almost all of the rich democratic world, except the US and Japan, have answered this with "nobody is allowed to be put to death by the state" as per the article.
  - shaftoe 7y ago
    There death penalty isn't about deterrent: bad people rarely consider punishment when making the decision to commit a crime. The death penalty exists so the decent don't have to suffer the truly evil to live. This is why arguments weighing pros and cons fall on deaf ears.
    - RHSeeger 7y ago
      > There death penalty isn't about deterrent This ^. I don't want to end someone's life because they did something bad. I want to end it because it's too much of a cose to keep them alive. Most importantly, the risk they will do something horrible again. If a given person has shown themself (grammar?) to be a severe risk to society, then ending that person may be the right solution.
      - WAHa_06x36 7y ago
        So being alive is a privilege that can be taken away?

This needs qualifying with "vs subjecting to death row", where the average tenure is 15 years. I think I'd personally rather a speedy execution for a crime that I didn't do rather than 15 years on death row and then exoneration. In addition: 25% of death row prisoners die of natural causes (via Wikipedia). I think if I supported the death penalty, I think I'd be comfortable finding out that 5% of executions were of innocent people. If I was religious, I'd be willing to accept a much higher number.

rfrey 7y ago
That position is appalling to me, but I’m impressed by your intellectual honesty and how you answer the question head on.
- peteretep 7y ago
  I am always mildly surprised to find out how much my opinion on the sanctity of life (eg: a low regard for such) differs from other people's. Making someone suffer unnecessarily seems unconscionable to me, where being dead doesn't seem like a huge big deal.
  - imtringued 7y ago
    So you're saying if you torture someone until they hit the breaking point it is morally the right thing to kill them? Some people's tolerance level is much lower than torture. Would it be acceptable to kill rape victims? After all, being dead doesn't seem like a huge big deal.
    - peteretep 7y ago
      I'm not sure I really follow your reasoning in any of those, sorry. What I will say is: I firmly believe the dead do not care that they're dead, are explicitly not suffering, and that we're all going to die. The suffering associated with death is the suffering associated with the survivors and the suffering in being told you're going to die.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

RHSeeger 7y ago

This reads like what you really mean is "it's never ok to execute an innocent person". How much money do you figure it is reasonable to spend to avoid the risk of killing one innocent person? How many people is it reasonable to let be killed/raped/etc because guilty people were kept alive? I don't think "it's never ok to sacrifice an innocent person" is the right answer.

peteretep 7y ago
> How many people is it reasonable to let be killed/raped/etc because guilty people were kept alive? You need to show a strong deterrent effect of the death penalty for this to be a reasonable line of argument. In addition, you'll find that almost all of the rich democratic world, except the US and Japan, have answered this with "nobody is allowed to be put to death by the state" as per the article.
- shaftoe 7y ago
  There death penalty isn't about deterrent: bad people rarely consider punishment when making the decision to commit a crime. The death penalty exists so the decent don't have to suffer the truly evil to live. This is why arguments weighing pros and cons fall on deaf ears.
  - RHSeeger 7y ago
    > There death penalty isn't about deterrent This ^. I don't want to end someone's life because they did something bad. I want to end it because it's too much of a cose to keep them alive. Most importantly, the risk they will do something horrible again. If a given person has shown themself (grammar?) to be a severe risk to society, then ending that person may be the right solution.
    - WAHa_06x36 7y ago
      So being alive is a privilege that can be taken away?