But not for the reason you may think. For example, I was very upset when Scott Peterson got the death sentence. For two reasons.
1. With the automatic appeals that MUST be filed in a capital case, it will cost the taxpayers MORE than simply incarcerating him for life.
And more importantly--2. It doesn't punish certain people enough. There are sociopaths in the world--Scott Peterson is one of them. Many people who kill lots of people--including probably John Allen Muhammad--are sociopaths. Sociopaths must be removed permanently from society for the safety of all.
Now, if you are a sociopath, you have NO empathy for others--you want to do what you want to do, and to hell with everyone else. Imagine what it would be like for one of these people to live a LONG life waking up every morning with the knowledge that he will spend his day being controlled by someone else. I can't think of any way to better punish them. The death penalty is shorter and more dramatic, which I think suits them. I'd rather just put them away.
I'm against capital punishment...
1. With the automatic appeals that MUST be filed in a capital case, it will cost the taxpayers MORE than simply incarcerating him for life.
And more importantly--2. It doesn't punish certain people enough. There are sociopaths in the world--Scott Peterson is one of them. Many people who kill lots of people--including probably John Allen Muhammad--are sociopaths. Sociopaths must be removed permanently from society for the safety of all.
Now, if you are a sociopath, you have NO empathy for others--you want to do what you want to do, and to hell with everyone else. Imagine what it would be like for one of these people to live a LONG life waking up every morning with the knowledge that he will spend his day being controlled by someone else. I can't think of any way to better punish them. The death penalty is shorter and more dramatic, which I think suits them. I'd rather just put them away.