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From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: re: P.O.P.,Capital Punishment
Message-ID: <1132@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 13-Oct-84 13:10:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.1132
Posted: Sat Oct 13 13:10:42 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Oct-84 18:34:20 EDT
References: <19@utecfc.UUCP>
Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 32

=================
     ->Well we had another two policemen killed here in the east this weekend.
       The killers are apparently a couple of car thieves and don't seem to
       fit this category. Instead they are just a couple of murderous thugs.
       One of the suspects was killed in an ensuing shootout with police and
       the other suspect deserves no less. It is interesting to note here that
       criminals will fight it out to the death even without the prospect of
       capital punishment facing them.
=================
Mark Thompson uses this example to support the return of capital
punishment.  To me it is a counter-example, supporting the thesis
that the death penalty would never deter such people from murder.
One of the (many) arguments against the death penalty is just that
the murderers do have a death wish, but can't commit suicide.  Their
own death is what they wish to achieve by their crime.

Mark also uses the phrase "the number of convicted murderers who
go on to kill again."  My understanding is that the repeat rate for
murder is negligible, especially when compared with that for other
crimes.  Most repeat murderers do it before they are caught, either
in a mass rampage, a series of similar killings (e.g. of prostitutes),
or as professional killers.

There may be a case to be made for the death penalty in the case of
professional killers, but if you want to deter repeats of a crime,
there are better crimes than murder for which you should consider capital
punishment.  Ever thought of sheep stealing?
-- 

Martin Taylor
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