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Capital Punishment: No
(Page 2 of 2)
Here, the criminal is extracted from society (banished in the old days, jailed in modern times) to prevent the criminal from doing further harm to a community's peaceful citizens. Ironically, it is the failure of our criminal justice system to ensure that violent criminals are incarcerated that has fueled support for the death penalty.
Yet the death penalty serves neither justice nor morality. Indeed, because it is so severe and irreversible a punishment, implementation of the death penalty requires procedures that undermine justice—through lengthy delays and technical maneuverings.
However wretched some crimes might be, they do not justify setting aside the fundamental moral premise that individuals ought not to kill other individuals except for self-defense. It is not out of pity for the criminal, but out of respect for our own morality, that we must shun the death penalty.
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