I am commenting on the death penalty glob psst because there were such UNBELIEVABLY LONG comments I could not bring myself to wade through them much less comment beneath their weighty verbiage.

HERE IS MY OPINION*:

1. It is more expensive to execute someone than to give them life without parole, because of the endless appeals.

2. Other than revenge, an ignoble motive, there is no good reason to kill someone even for killing someone else. Self- and other-defense is the only excusable motive and that requires being there at the time.

3. The prospect of the death penalty does not deter criminals, no matter what anyone tells anyone.

*my opinion is:

a. worth what you have just paid for it and

b. likened to a common and much maligned body part, in that each of us possesses one
 

I am against capital punishment however your point about defence requiring one to be there would be countered by a list of victims of escaped murderers.
 

Yes revenge is an extremely potent motive. It does not bring back the victim(s), nor does it leave the vengeful innocent; they become killers themselves. We are all killers one way or another, as life lives on death, but killing another human being does something irreversibly damaging to the human heart.
 

I'm not talking about revenge. I'm talking about killers who escape and kill again. Hence "victims of escaped murderers."
 

Since I thought I was being clear but was totally misunderstood, I'll try to clarify.

I was addressing your idea that defence "requires being there at the time" as I think an argument someone might make to support capital punishment is that a killer, even if incarcerated, will continue to be a danger as he could escape and kill more people.

In killing a murderer it COULD be said that the government is protecting society.

It's hard for me to restate this since, as I said, I'm against capital punishment.