They apply with equal force not just to capital punishment but to any punishment whatsoever. If those are good arguments, they require that we simply dismantle the legal system. If we are going to treat men as machines, or at best as sick animals who need to get better, then putting them in prison certainly is not the way to heal them. We would rather then commit ourselves to the kind of environment that would make them the most docile and most law-abiding. Maybe we should just put them in a resort and provide for all of their needs and make their lives wonderful and pay their way through college so that they are changed into law-abiding citizens.
Nobody wants to do that for the same reason they feel comfortable receiving praise.
They understand deep within them that man is a moral animal who is responsible and who ought to be praised when he does good, but who ought to be punished when he does wrong. It is made available to you at no charge through the faithful giving of those who support Stand to Reason. Reproduction permitted for non-commercial use only.