Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[seabass]

>>>Biblically, capital punishment should be pursued only in cases where there is no real question as to guilt or innocence. Scripture says there must be at least 2 witnesses, and that would preclude capital punishment in cases based on circumstantial evidence.<<<


Makes a lot of sense and I wish it worked but human witnesses make mistakes too or malfunction under emotional stress. Especially those who have witnessed a murder of a family member, spouse or close friend. Some of them want closure and revenge at any cost.

Why is america the only western democracy still executing its citizens? I think it's because all the others have concluded that in order to kill one of your own you need to be 100% sure he/she is guilty and in too many cases you'll never get that guarantee even with witnesses or DNA.

It's still a young country. What do you think the odds are for the death penalty to survive another 10 years in america? My guess is less than 20%.



"The death penalty is the ultimate denial of civil liberties. In the past 30 years, 123 inmates were found to be innocent and released from death row."

http://www.aclu.org/capital/general/10521res20040409.html

(Just to clarify........this doesn't prove that the system works but begs the question how many innocents were executed before proven innocent.)