It's not, but not because of the application of the death penalty. This was my point. The lack of deterrent effect comes from the horrible delay between the conviction and execution of the sentence. This was my point.



I picked child molesters as an example because of their low rate of recidivism. Part of your line of argument is that a low recidivism rate is a justification for a sentence of relative leniency (imprisonment vs death). When one examines case after case, though one finds the opposite is true of child molesters...often they are considered "sick" in the criminal justice sense. Therefore, they are institutionalized until they are "cured". But the argument is often advanced that "child molesters dont' get better", thereby becoming a justification for lifelong imprisonment. In the cases where the child molester is not considered sick (again, in the criminal justice sense), typically a very long sentence is handed out, then the perpetrator is hounded, harrassed and stalked after his release.

The ultimate point here is that "justice", whatever that actually is, is entirely political.

That being the case, we need to recognize that our argument is actually one of politics. It is part of my politics to allow the death penalty in some cases. And further, I think it is entirely appropriate in this particular criminal case.



John Allen Muhammad is a convicted serial murder, terrorist, and general slimy dude. His actions have made existence among the population, even though that may be confined to the criminal population, harmful to society. How is society advanced by his continued presence among the living?

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