[Paradox]

I turned against the death penalty several years ago, I have seen many Freepers say the same thing. It has NOTHING to do with my compassion for the criminal, in my perfect world, any murderer would be killed (perhaps by his potential victim) right befor he did the deed. My concern is with meting out an irreversible punishment in a system of imperfect justice.

So there are a few "real conservatives" who have a problem with it.

[IronJack]

My concern is with meting out an irreversible punishment in a system of imperfect justice.

ALL punishment is "irreversible." If you put an innocent man behind bars for 20 years, upon the discovery of his innocence, how do you restore the 20 years?

Justice is, by nature, retributive and reactive. If the scales are to be balanced, the punishment must equal the crime. The maximum offense demands the maximum payment. Since the most punishment the system can impose and still be constitutional is a death sentence, in cases where the offense is as heinous as imaginable, the death penalty is not only tolerable, it is REQUIRED as the only means to satisfy justice. Any lesser penalty diminishes the value of the victim's suffering and elevates the offender above not only that victim but society itself.

It takes courage to apply the ultimate discipline, but a worthy society will rise to that demand.

[irish guard]

I’m against it but for a different reason. I think God gets to decide who dies, not me or our justice system. I’m all for putting them in a prison and paying to let them think about their awful decisions. And yet according to Rapscallion and others,they believe I am not a conservative. I’ll live with my religious beliefs and my own comfort of my conservative positions.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

My concern is with meting out an irreversible punishment in a system of imperfect justice.

I'm with you on this.