June 20, 2005

If you don't think the death penalty deters crime, why would you think the right to vote deters crime?

Jeremy asks.

4 comments:

Shana said...

I would say that the death penalty is a bit of a crime deterrent, considering that person will never commit a crime again.

hat said...

saying death penalty is deterrant is like saying you exterminate roaches to discourage the others.

as far as deterrance goes, these days pretty much the only people who get the death penalty would be the kind whom it wouldn't deter, psychopaths and mass murderers.

jeremy said...

During the 2000 Presidential Debates, Bush cited the deterrent effect of the death penalty as the main reason he supported it.

carla said...

Statistically, there is little or no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrant. Whether or not we "think" it does isn't especially relevant.

I personally don't agree with the death penalty except in the most extreme of cases and where DNA evidence is conclusive.