The Death Penalty Two Step

The Death Penalty Two Step April 28, 2017

When those eager to kill defend the death penalty, one extremely common lie is “We’re just thinking of the victims. What about them? What about their need for closure? Bleeding heart liberals who oppose the death penalty never think of the victims!”

But then, when the victims of capital crime come forward and beg the state not to inflict the death penalty since it does not, in fact, bring healing or closure, advocates of the death penalty, bent on maximizing killing no matter what, then reply “Whatever the personal views of victims, the demands of Abstract Justice require death–even if killing in the name of victims in fact inflicts further pain and anguish on victims.”

The spectacle of slaughter in Arkansas over the past few days, all of it entirely driven by the cheapskate rush to kill as many people as possible before the drug used for executions reaches its expiration date, makes clear that whatever the death penalty is, it is not Justice.


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