I often wonder how anyone could be in favour of the death penalty. It makes no sense. There are many web sites that put forth the many arguments why capital punishment serves no purpose. We all know its not a deterrent, we all know that countless innocent people have been put to death, we all know it eliminates any chance for re-habilitation. Worst of all it legitimates the pre meditated death of a defenseless human being. It basically justifies death, like so many murderers do.
I would like to put forth another argument. IT'S NOT PUNISHMENT ! Since we are all going to die, where is the punishment? You could argue just knowing your time of death is punishment enough but let's face it, most of us can probably predict our death time within 10 years. If we think about it, we might be fretted, but most of us don't.
A real punishment for the most heinous crimes would be solitary confinement with no chance of parole. Depriving someone of social contact is the greatest punishment that can be delivered.
The only "western" nation to still retain capital punishment, the United States, also has the highest murder rate. Think about that.
