…as an aesthetic, not a moral, issue. It’s the secret thread uniting P.Z. Myers with a vast number of death penalty advocates. Myers talks about how he’s not “afraid” of viewing people as meat, basically stating that because his feelings are numb to the sight of gore in the lab, it is likewise morally acceptable to be immune to the sight of gore in an abortuary (or concentration camp, adds the enthusiastic Dr. Josef Mengele).
Likewise, death penalty supporters chatter about “deterrance” while somehow preserving a system that makes sure our killing happens in a neat, clean, sterile environment where nobody is allow to see a thing, much less be deterred by it.