A Simple Reason to Oppose the Death Penalty
Figures from Jesus of Nazareth to Socrates to Dietrich Bonhoeffer were tapped for execution by the state. What does that tell you?
Julie Borowski is a libertarian who made a name for herself by posting quirky videos on some serious subjects.
Many years ago, she explained how she went from being a proponent of capital punishment to an opponent.
I’ve provided a quick summary of her points here:
Capital punishment doesn’t deter crime.
Capital punishment doesn’t save money. (Quite the opposite: a death penalty case costs three times as much as housing an inmate for 40 years in a maximum security prison, on average, she claims.)
People are fallible; eyewitnesses make mistakes.
Government does not have a great track record of competence or efficiency.
Since 1973, some 140 people have been released from death row based on exculpatory evidence or testimony. That’s about 10 percent of death row cases.
Considering the previous three points, it’s intuitive that some innocent people have been and will continue to be executed by the state.
Unfortunately, unlike prisoners confined for life, you can’t go back and release falsely convicted victims of the system after they’ve been shot up with potassium chloride.
Readers can watch the clip below for themselves and determine if her facts are accurate and her arguments valid. But in my experience, facts and arguments don’t really work in the death penalty debate.
What I find is that people either support or oppose the death penalty, and then they find “facts” and arguments that support their position.
I have both empirical and moral arguments for opposing capital punishment, but my main view is that history shows the state is an institution unfit to wield such power.
If you doubt this, consider that figures from Jesus of Nazareth to Socrates to Dietrich Bonhoeffer were tapped for execution by the state. (Yes, yes, I know Socrates poisoned himself before his sentence was carried out.)
P.S. While I oppose the death penalty, I also believe the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to decide the matter.
"History shows the state is an institution unfit to wield such power." - The snippet of your quote here, Jon, is my biggest takeaway, and it's why, for over a decade now, I've been a strong opponent of the death penalty.
There is a subject not covered by your article. Disposal of the truly evil.