If the British recession of the early 1980s "boosted murder rates" how has America achieved the lowest murder rate in 40 years? Greater prosperity? No drug abuse? No changes to society in general?
Contrary to liberal wisdom and for the benefit of the poorer members of society who are "39% more likely to end up as murder victims", America has retained capital punishment.
"There are less murders, less murder victims and less death sentences because, in our view, we have been giving this problem the right medicine," Michael Rushford, president of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Capital Punidhment would increase the deterant effect on any cime. But the problem on it remains the same, that we are only human and can make mistakes. If somebody who is innocent is locked up then they can be released, and possibly compensated for the time stolen from them. If they are executed by mistake then there is no posibility of correcting that mistake.
I'm less concerned about mistakes as I believe that we would be ultra careful around this issue but what concerns me is the Police themselves. They 'know' someone is guilty but can't get that pesky evidence even after 90 days so they 'help' us by planting some. Then later, if it is discovered there are no repercussions for them. If they lost their own freedoms and pensions then maybe they would less inclined to do this.
I'm totally against the death penalty and I don't believe it has made any difference in the countries with it. The -ve aspects do not allow correction and how many innocents have been found guilty to date. Never mind how many innocents will be incarcerated without trial when the latest round of binge lawmaking comes in.
Chris and Bag, fear of making an error is certainly a big reason to avoid capital punishment. However, in certain cases, evidence can be overwhelming without relying on the dubious opinions of expert witnesses.
Does a wait on death row as in the US avoid such mistakes?
Suppose that capital punishment deters 10 murders for every hanging. Suppose that juries' verdicts would be unaltered by the existence of capital punishment. Suppose that one guilty verdict in twenty is wrong. By scrapping capital punishment you save one innocent life at the expense of 200 murder victims. Alter the guesses to suit yourself, but face up to the implication.
It ain't capital punishment by the State that lowers murder (as well as many other crime rates), it is the empowerment of the civilian to defend themself, their home or their loved ones using deadly force if necessary. Not only does it make for a more polite society, but few criminals will risk a hail of bullets to steal a $200 TV set from your house.....
Elected Sheriffs and Police Chiefs also have a huge role when it comes to priorities that matter to the regular working Joe!
Post a Comment