Hindrocket at Power Line has a post on the parents' nightmare that has happened not too far away on the North Dakota/Minnesota border: young woman abducted...level 3 sex offender has been arrested...young woman is still missing.
He mentions that Governor Pawlenty has called for the re-institution of the death penalty.
As far to the right as I tip...I have a tough time with the death penalty. Something about government bureaucrats planning a death gives me the chills. That said, I don't think I would lose any sleep over a victim's family member who happened to off one of these sick b*stards. If someone ever hurt one of my kids...I think I would be able to do things that would surprise everyone.
And if some of this vermin makes it safely into the confines of a jail or prison...why bother with the death penalty? What we need to do is revisit the definition of cruel and unusual punishment.
A cell. A toilet. A bunk. A window. Bread. Water. CentrumTM One-A-Day Vitamins Plus Calcium.
Cruel? Perhaps, but I have trouble understanding why we owe monsters like these anything more than basic sustenance.
Now if the prisoner should request the death penalty...well then we might oblige. Perhaps just slip him a syringe with his loaf of bread and let him decide if he wants to use it.
On this blog, I usually steer away from the anything more controversial than whether or not I should buy the hormone-free milk, but every time a case like this arises, and I think of my kids and all the families I know with young children who could some day turn into a victim...well, it's hard to avoid thinking about what you would like to see happen to these offenders.
Posted by Cathy at December 2, 2003 09:53 PMdog below does NOT look 'sneaky'. And I'm a cat person.
Posted by: Chris Muir at December 3, 2003 06:22 PMI support the death penalty, though I will say that I'm glad that DNA evidence is now so prevalent; errors have been made in the past, some irretrievable, and errors will be made in the future - this is the nature of human institutions - but DNA identification has eliminated some levels of inaccuracy.
I'm less concerned with the idea of "bureaucrats planning a death" than I am with the courts and politicians (Ryan of Illinois being the most recent, blatant example) doing everything in their power to thwart the death penalty - almost always against the wishes of the electorate.
My biggest problem with the death penalty has to do with its current implementation: by moving it behind closed doors and implementing an antiseptic regime we've removed the most visible and striking example of justice being done from the public square. "Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done" is a sound basis for an effective system of justice. Being somewhat bloody-minded (not blood-thirsty, mind you) I would like to see a return to public executions, preferably in the county where the crime was committed and/or the criminal convicted, pour encourager les autres.
When it comes down to it, I don't like the necessity of the death penalty, but I realise the need will probably exist as long as man does.
This happened to be posted in the comments at Emperor Misha's ("Judge. Rope. Tree.", 2 December, 2003), and seems germane:
"Society [has] a right to erase from the roll of its members any one who rendered his own existence inconsistent with theirs; to withdraw from him the protection of their laws, and to remove him from among them by exile, or even by death if necessary." -- Thomas Jefferson to L. H. Girardin, 1815. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson Memorial Edition (Lipscomb and Bergh, editors)20 Vols., Washington, D.C., 1903-04. pg. 14:277
(courtesy of LC Linda, GLOR)
Aelfheld, you most definitely need to get a blog! Your thinking deserves it's own spotlight...not just highlights in someone else's comments.
The public square execution interested me. Worked for Vlad the Impaler, but would it lose its effectivness rapidly in our current society? Or is deterrence not even an issue here? Would the purpose of the execution be merely to remove some lesion from a healthy society?
And what type of execution? (I'm just wondering if I can start making larger sacrifices to the weather gods. Minnesota would replace Maui as a leading honeymoon destination before too long!)
Posted by: Cathy at December 3, 2003 10:04 PMI understand your reference to Vlad Tepes, but I don't think it applicable. Drakulya's mass impalements to a large degree were of conquered people, Turkish captives, and those who balked at his dictates: this wasn't justice but revenge.
Deterrence should never be a prime consideration in the imposition of any judicial penalty; deterrence involves a hypothetical third party in a transaction between society (represented by the courts) and the malefactor; this distorts the rationale of the courts and introduces irrelevant and distracting considerations.
As for the form of public execution, I prefer hanging; as Poul Anderson said, you can reuse a rope. Plus, for your purposes, hanging was the preferred method of sacrificing to Odin. I've always considered the 'wicker-man' method to be messy, but it would give those who majored in basket-weaving a new career.
Posted by: aelfheld at December 4, 2003 01:25 PM