Death Penalty

Hi again, I understand completely what you mean by your argument. The point that I'm putting forth is murder, like so many other acts deemed ignoble, assumes a universal morality that does not exist. Humans harm other humans, while maintaining their justifications for doing so. Some justifications we agree with, some we don't. It is all left up to our subjective experience, which again, refutes this idea of a universal recognition of right and wrong. If the government is simply a collection of human beings, not some greater, independent consciousness, it too will have its (human derived) reasons/justifications i.e., for why murder is justifiable e.g., self defense, war, treason, drug trafficking and so on. So it is not so hypocritical as you claim. But if you are arguing that murder, regardless of the reason, is wrong, then we are all hypocrites, because we all harden our hearts (entertain the demise of others) towards other human beings for reasons both justified and unjustified...lol. I know that the govt was created for noble purposes, but I'm sure you will agree that we have fallen short of many a noble concept. And the fall is principally due to our tendency to deny/repress the human beings equal potential for 'good and bad' acts, when conjuring up these lofty theories. I will say that your view of life imprisonment strikes me as a bit idyllic, as you say it "allows them to live and breathe, to think and feel, to laugh and love...". I don't know what prisons or prison stats you are using to back up this claim but it the reports I read/see repeatedly depict the rotting of a the soul...lol. Also, one of the major complaints about prison is the swelling roles of lifers. See here: http://www.businessinsider.com... So I dont know where you get the number 40/yr. I think you misunderstood my point about victims families... I was not suggesting that they contribute financially to see justice be done, but rather that telling them that the death penalty is too costly to pursue, is like a slap in the face to someone who has lost a loved one due to violent crime. To them, the life that was taken was priceless, so cost is a rather callous point to make for all concerned. Just saying.. Your point about the cruelty also fall flat, as a the offender never paused to consider the cruelty being inflicted on the their victims! Murder is cruel and inhumane...it is what it is... regardless of whether committed by govt or criminal. One is no better than the other, so, again, I dont see your basis for how one is worse. And finally, your comparisons to the penal systems in other countries, raises some serious issues. I think we all have observed how the justice system seems to be more lenient toward the affluent of our society. I agree with your implied condemnation of corruption in the justice system, but one cannot deny the mere fact that possessing the resources to pay for lawyers and court costs increases the likelihood of one being acquitted. This is tantamount to bribery, because you have to fatten their pockets. So even here, in a wealthy, 'first-world' country, justice costs!!! I think we must be careful of the ' fecal matter' we sling when we forward derogatory generalizations about others, as we never come out of it as unsullied as we anticipated..lol