Re: OT: A Bowl in Honor of Governor Arnie

gregaryt@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I'm sorry, but if someone is going to argue against the death penalty,
this isn't the poster child you want. He was an evil man by just about
all accounts. I will agree that rejoicing in anyone's death is wrong,
but I also can't say I'm sorry he's gone. I'm very leery of the death
penalty due to my honest distrust of government, but I honestly believe
this time the system got it right. 


Greg, a poster child isn't needed to oppose capital punishment.  I'm not
at all opposed to victims killing attackers in self-defense, and in
fact, I think a potentially life-threatening assault should be met by
the intended victim with overwhelming force.  But it is an abuse of the
concept of self-defense to claim that a state-sponsored homicide meets
the criteria.

When the state puts someone to death, it is merely a vengeful exercise
of force that presumably reflects the will of a majority of people who
in fact, do not have the right to assign such authority.  The state
starts each prosecution with a declaration that the criminal has
committed an offense against the state.  I say the state is not a person
and cannot be offended against.  It is offensive to me that the state
exists at all, as government itself is an initiation of force.

Just in case it isn't clear, I'm not a bleeding heart liberal and I
don't oppose capital punishment because of some misguided wish to excuse
bad behavior, and especially not for reasons based on environmental or
psychological or other factors supposedly outside the control of the
evildoer.  That's a bunch of bunk.  People are responsible for their
actions, and should be held accountable.  I oppose capital punishment
solely because I deny the right of some people (a majority of voters) to
grant approval to another entity (the state) to perform revenge killings
by proxy.

Skip.
.

Relevant Pages

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