CT to repeal the death penalty

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Any of the conservative Catholics who get so sincere and devoted to life over the issue of contraception care to take this opportunity for ideological consistency? Doubt it.

Why this concentration on Catholics as opposed to the devout Protestants on this forum? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_capital_punishment

Actually, I believe the only Catholic on this forum who is actually against birth control is also anti-death penalty, but it's possible I'm misremembering.

I distinctly remember TJ following Church line on this as on that issue, yes.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The death penalty is very popular in CT in this quinnipiac poll.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/connecticut/release-detail?ReleaseID=1739

And this makes it right how, exactly?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

krazen is, of course, presenting himself as a populist on absolutely everything except for certain areas of tax and monetary policy, because his NEA grant is to act as profoundly amoral as humanly possible while still being able to come across as a real right-winger.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

extremely natural, rational, and reasonable human desire for vengeance for evildoers.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm speechless.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

extremely natural, rational, and reasonable human desire for vengeance for evildoers.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm speechless.

Are you some type of mother teresa type of person that has never sought retribution against another human being?

Are you some type of Gilles de Rais type of person that has never thought it might be possible that a natural instinct could be, uh, wrong?

I suspect that the support of the death penalty is rooted in the extremely natural, rational, and reasonable human desire for vengeance for evildoers. And our Constitution of course implicitly accepts the legality of executing such villains. Nothing wrong with that!

Now that is what the government is for. Not protecting the rights of voters, not balancing the playing field, not improving the economy for more than a few thousand people. It's killing its citizens. And for emotional reasons no less! How very liberal of you, using emotion as a driving force in political and legally murderous momentary satisfaction. Cost effective and rational, excellent.

PS - google rational, I don't think you're getting it

Hmm? Governments have used death to punish infamous criminals for thousands of years now. If there is indeed a list of the 'purposes' of government, it is to rid society of such individuals to ensure the freedom of man.

This is what is known among the kids these days as 'the big house', which is a much cheaper option (something that was not the case for thousands of years) and does not have significantly less value as a deterrent. I suppose if you're only interested in revenge it's somewhat disappointing, but I honestly don't care what people who are only interested in revenge think.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Of course not. Those people were rich, many of them owning humans as private property. Also, you know, agrarian society, two hundred years ago, radically different political economy, et cetera.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Wait vengeance is the primary purpose of the justice system? So we seek "vengeance" against people who drive too fast or illegally park?

I believe the primary purpose is deterrence- people get a ticket, others don't park illegally or speed. People get fried- others don't murder

There have been studies of crime rates in jurisdictions with versus without various types of punishment to back up the idea that the death penalty and life without parole aren't notably different in terms of deterrent effect, though.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Parking tickets are arguably not really a key part of the justice system, it's more of a societal tool to deal with a specific problem.

An argument can be made that 'a societal tool to deal with a specific problem' is not an inaccurate characterization of laws against things like murder.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Parking tickets are arguably not really a key part of the justice system, it's more of a societal tool to deal with a specific problem.

An argument can be made that 'a societal tool to deal with a specific problem' is not an inaccurate characterization of laws against things like murder.

Sure, but would you actually make that argument? When someone gets a parking ticket, do we nod approvingly to each other and say "justice has been served"?

No, and you're right that it's a different sort of issue, but that shouldn't be our reaction to killings, either.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Right or wrong is of course a value judgment. Certainly there are some who believe that what happened to the Petits is not wrong. Certainly there are many who wish to inflict punishment upon the perpetrators of such heinous crimes and that's why we have the lethal injection.

Are you familiar with the concept of false dichotomies? How about that of poisoning the wells?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Right, which is why I'm glad that it's looking increasingly likely he'll never be let out of the hole until his natural last end.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Not as such, it doesn't.