This is Why I Support the Death Penalty

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by August

Therein lies the rub. For every one of these there are 100 whose guilt is not so firmly established.

Point taken, although I believe that sunvalleyslim also has a point - the ratio is probably reversed (1 out of 100 whose guilt is questionable). Frankly, I find the moral dilemma to be similar regarding just locking people up in the first place - I'd hate to think of the horror of being wrongly imprisoned.

That is indeed the only argument against the death penalty that leaves me torn.

However, the fact that there's an overall margin of error does not dismiss the fact that, on a case-by-case basis, certain cases have no margin of error whatsoever. Those are the cases where I support capital punishment. A lot of times people will posit that the legal system isn't perfect, and they are correct. Yet, a single case does not represent the system as a whole. Furthermore, our legal system is based upon the single case.

I do believe that irrefutable proof must be the standard for any and all executions. I also believe that the penalty of death is warranted in many cases - especially in the rape and murder of an 8 month old baby.