This is a complete overreaction to my post. The issue of alleged terrorists being locked up with no evidence against them is a completely different topic, and really doesn't compare. I was talking about cases where you have undeniable DNA proof of what I would call a "predatory" crime, i.e. when a murderer/pedophile preys on an innocent victim.
Tell that to the hundreds of innocent men detained for being alleged terrorists. No DNA evidence to incriminate or exonerate them. Under harsh detention conditions that included physical and psychological torture, some of them even confessed to doing all kinds of things as well as various crimes that were easily proven to have been impossible. DNA isn't the be-all-end-all to securing all cases.
Death penalty is a regression in the evolution of our civility, humanity and our moral standing. Taking someone's life makes you no better than them; the act is the same, only the motives are different. Morally speaking, revenge isn't all that far from pure malice. It debases us all, it lets us pretend that we can take a life and get a free pass and not be morally responsible or accountable because we've decided they deserve it and it's our right to be morally lazy and satisfy our desire for revenge. It makes our claims that we're above all other animals even more of a farce because despite being equipped with the capacity to reason, to presumably behave based on an evolved system of morals, we choose not to use it and act on our deep urge to punish and we give in to our urge to feel good about it too. And as a result, we arbitrarily decide that our complex moral system doesn't apply to us when it makes us feel good. Sorry, as much as I can admit I could probably feel that way in some cases too, I'm still very much able to recognize that it would come at a cost to my own moral integrity and frankly I put more value on keeping my moral integrity as intact as possible than on some misguided desire for cheap revenge.
It is SUCH a step backwards, it's not only disturbing it's fucking sad that this would even be considered as a reasonable option in 2012. What the hell is the matter with this country? Why don't we just skip all of this, get it over with and go straight back to the Dark Ages already? That's where this is headed, so let's just skip all of the crap and just go right back to our caves...
Or here's thought. Why don't all you people who want to follow our neighbors example and regress back to biblical times just go and join in their fun and leave what's left of our progressive society here in Canada for those of us who are quite capable of functioning in a society that acknowledges the whole range of shades of grey in between the black and the white extremes and who value a moderate, reasoned approach to dealing with the complexities of life and aren't limited to a reactionary way to deal with the world that's determined by the inability to go beyond allowing our basic, simple emotional impulses to cloud our judgement and determine our actions,
Sorry, I find it so depressing that the insanity is spreading in this country and it's a really ugly picture.
This is Canada. We move forward, not backwards, ok? If you really must move backwards, maybe you should move to Texas where your vision will be embraced. But we'd like to keep whatever dwindling sanity we're holding on to here in Canada. We've got nowhere else to go, really. But you do, so go shoot some Mexican "aliens" in Texas and leave us to our tolerant and peaceful Canada. Oh, and please take The entire Harper Government™ with you too, we won't have any use for them here. They can get ready for Armageddon and teach creationism down there. I'm sure they'll also be thrilled about their abstinence-only sex ed and that there will no longer be abortion providers in Texas after Gov. Rick Perry's decision to implement a new law that excludes Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid Women's Health Program. (but since the state broke federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers, they will be losing the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year. But that's a small detail, I'm sure.)
lol thank you.
I am absolutely in no way in favour of US - style crime and punishment, and am fearful of our own Conservative governments policies leading to us having more hardened criminals. Locking people up and throwing away the key doesn't work - as is evidenced by the fact that the US, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world, also has very high crime rates.
But when it comes to monsters like Clifford Olsen, Paul Bernardo, and anyone else who rapes and kills children, to me the death penalty would do 2 things 1) make absolute sure that that individual never repeats their crimes (zero chance of escaping) and 2) would keep us from having to house and feed these monsters for the rest of their lives.
I would never support the death penalty for any other type of crime, even for other types of murder.
