From: Dick.Gray@bull.com
Date: Wed Nov 25 1998 - 09:34:33 MST
At 07:15 AM 11/24/98 -0800, ChuckKuecker <ckuecker@mcs.net> wrote:
>Second,I feel that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment
>for the unlawful and malicious killing of a fellow human being.
Let's discuss whether "punishment" is appropriate to begin with. Quick,
what's the difference between punishment and revenge? I see no real
distinction; punishment is simply more "official" sounding (and often
cloaked in "legality" - see my earlier posting) and is imposed by supposed
"authorities".
What civil order requires is protection, and restitution where possible,
not revenge.
It gets a little trickier, of course, where restitution is not (yet)
possible, as in the case of murder. Some compensation can still be provided
to the bereaved. Social ostracism and other non-aggressive measures can
help insure that a murderously-inclined individual has little opportunity
to repeat the offense. In incorrigible cases, exile is a possibility, not
as punishment but as a defensive action.
The guiding principle IMO should be to meet force with the least force
necessary. There are all sorts of ways we can avoid becoming the sort of
people we oppose. Surely we Extropians ought to be in the vanguard of the
progress toward true civilization.
Peace,
Dickola
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