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If life imprisonment is not a deterrent then why would the death penalty be?
by ashconnor 2y ago
If life imprisonment is not a deterrent then why would the death penalty be?
- skissane 2y agoI don't think anything is much of a deterrent, because that overestimates the extent to which criminals are rational agents. But there is a massive difference between life imprisonment and the death penalty – with life imprisonment, there is always the possibility of some day getting out due to a commutation, a change in the law, etc. Whereas, once someone is executed, they are dead.
- creato 2y agoMany of the problematic drug users get arrested frequently, including for violent crimes. It doesn’t need to be a deterrent to “work”.
- ashconnor 2y agoBy that logic life imprisonment would work.
- anon291 2y agoBecause a good amount of people on life imprisonment end up ... leaving jail. Also, there is a quiet movement to end life sentencing in this country, including releasing people. There's no movement to 'undead' people that has any scientific merit.