Public Executions? (good or bad)

[mrniceguy]

I think public execution would derange people, glorifying the killing of criminals would deaden the public's compassion for life imo.

[Epidemic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrniceguy

I think public execution would derange people, glorifying the killing of criminals would deaden the public's compassion for life imo.

does compassion for life of a murderer as described above (serial killer, serial child rapist and murderer) help the "public"?



PS The derangement argument is the only possible benefit for doing it behind doors. Public execution would most certainly reduce murder by some fraction but i am not sure if it might make some new murderers out of some fringe folks.

also If I deter 100 murders and directly cause 10 new ones to occure I am not sure how I could deal with that and tell the families sorry my bad but 90 other familes are feeling better today.

[Theophylact]

The certainty of a punishment is a far more effective deterrent than its severity. (Mark Kleiman has just published a book on this very subject, When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment.)

I really do believe that many people here enjoy punishment too much for its own sake and less for its efficacy.

[mrniceguy]

also, I don't think I understand the difference between killing someone in public or in private from the point of view of the offender. The real question you have to address is how many people honestly stop and think 'well what will happen if I kill this guy' before they commit murder.

I think most murders are crimes of passion, you just get so angry you don't care about the consequences till after the fact. Then you have crazies climbing a bell tower at a college with their rifle and gunning random people down. Do you think the consequences of murder ever even crossed their minds?

[Theophylact]

On a related issue: Discussing the virtues of various approaches to impossible hypotheticals, such as Epidemic is proposing, is a waste of time.

[Epidemic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theophylact

On a related issue: Discussing the virtues of various approaches to impossible hypotheticals, such as Epidemic is proposing, is a waste of time.

Impossible hypotheticals? Although not proven beyond all possibility the DC sniper comes a close as you can to being proven absolutely guilty. So please do detail how this hypothetical is so impossible?

[Theophylact]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epidemic

Impossible hypotheticals? Although not proven beyond all possibility the DC sniper comes a close as you can to being proven absolutely guilty. So please do detail how this hypothetical is so impossible?

Well, for one thing, you still don't know who actually pulled the trigger, and in at least one of the jurisdictions, that is determinative of the death penalty. For a second, "beyond a crime of passion" is in the eye of the beholder to a certain extent (and why would you except a crime of passion, anyway?), as mrniceguy points out. For a third thing, in many real cases the "beyond all possibility" is the result of a confession that all too often turns out to be totally false.

For a fourth, you all too blithely dismiss the "ickiness" of the public spectacle. We don't allow porn or snuff films to be projected on the sides of public buildings because we don't want to encourage enjoyment of some things.

[The Real Bingo]

Good. We should bring back the practice of tarring and feathering our misrepresentatives, too.

[doddsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theophylact

For a fourth, you all too blithely dismiss the "ickiness" of the public spectacle. We don't allow porn or snuff films to be projected on the sides of public buildings because we don't want to encourage enjoyment of some things.

i'd be happy to continue not to show these - while at the same time allowing executions to be made public. you're comparing apples with oranges.

[Steve R Jones]

I love the idea. My fiteen minutes of fame for the spree killing I did would turn into 20 minutes of fame when everyone comes and watches me fry..

If I kill more people could you hang me twice please