>- Forcible rape (either sex) - Paedophilia While I see what you're saying, "pedophilia" isn't a crime. >they deal harshly and swiftly with the dregs of socie

>- Forcible rape (either sex) - Paedophilia While I see what you're saying, "pedophilia" isn't a crime. >they deal harshly and swiftly with the dregs of society. The goal shouln't be dealing with the "dregs of society", it should be dealing with people who have committed crimes, whether they are dregs or not. >The West has, in my mind, grown soft. Perhaps because people prefer a "soft" system. I don't see why softness is bad in itself. >and for which there is ZERO doubt This is surprisingly rarely the case; in various countries with huge oversight and process, innocents have been killed. >Why should I, a law-abiding tax payer have to pay for three hots and a cot for those who deserve the death penalty. Because justice shouldn't be predicated on how costly or cheap it is to carry out. I have trouble understanding why you think it should be. Is justice subservient to the money it costs to carry out? Do you think it should be? And this argument only makes sense if we agree that they "deserve" the death penalty in the first place, which I don't agree with. Because someone deserving the death penalty hasn't been argued for (at least not by you), it's possible for me to agree with you (i.e those who deserve death should get it) while thinking that nobody deserves death. >The state has a right to execute heinous crimes. Oh really? The anarchist movement, for example, would disagree with this assertion. >A rapist will continue to rape. Is this backed up by empirical data? If it's true, why is death preferable punishment to lifetime imprisonment or chemical castration? >Paedophiles have the highest repeat rate. This is only true among a subclass of offenders; since your usage of the term is ambiguous, I'm assuming it also includes people who possess child pornography, but their rates of reoffence are low, and there is no established likelihood of possessors going on to abuse children. (Though possession should still be a crime, of course).