Re: never a day passes (death penalty)

From: Randall Randall (wolfkin@freedomspace.net)
Date: Wed Dec 04 2002 - 09:36:02 MST


Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
> Randall Randall wrote:
>>Rafal Smigrodzki wrote:
>>>Let the incarcerated starve if they can't come up with the cash?
>>
>>I don't understand why you see incredulous at this most obvious
>>solution. If someone is not willing to produce value, then is
>>that not the same as choosing to die by starvation?
>
> ### Sorry, I was misinterpreting your comments. I thought you were opposed
> to the death penalty on other grounds.

I'm opposed to the death penalty for two reasons:
A) The system might make mistakes.
B) I prefer a system which bases justice on results,
rather than intentions. Given this, it is conceivable
that I (or any other person) might end up causing an
accident which kills someone and find myself in the
same position as anyone else found guilty of causing
a death.

>>Since they will have a very large debt to pay, it will be a long
>>time before a typical murderer can 'go free'.
>
> ### There are some substantial problems with this approach. Very wealthy
> murderers could go free very quickly, unless the penalty was adjusted to fit
> the murderer's resources. I doubt that incarcerated murderers would be
> physically capable of paying for the incarceration and restitution. Unless
> you add some more features to this system you will have a limited deterrent
> and a financial loss.

Yes, I understand that what I've mentioned is not a complete
system. I would expect a more fully realized system from an
actual provider of justice/protection services.

> ### Should I have a choice between joining a protection agency which would
> ruthlessly pursue and kill somebody who kills me (and take all his money),
> vs. joining an agency which merely extracts some money from him, I'd choose
> the former. I agree with you that the free market for justice is a great
> idea, and I do not doubt that many alternatives would flourish there, from
> starry-eyed do-godies, to the heavily armed touch-me-nots.

...and I would prefer a system which did no irreversible things in
any event, for a very wide meaning of reversible.

-- 
Randall Randall <randall@randallsquared.com>
"[The] poetic justice of cause and effect compels
 respect, compassion." -- Faithless, God is a DJ.


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