I appreciate your perspective.
The unintended consequences follow whichever way you go. Fewer executions means fewer unjust executions but more death on the streets. That is where we are now.
As to the four examples you cited, I see them in another way, which may point the way to reasonable reform.
1) The Bloodworth case illustrates the fallacy of eyewitness testimony. Much work has been done on this issue, but almost always by the abolitionists. A reasonable reform would be to require judges to warn juries who deliberate on the punishment phase, or to abolish jury involvement in the punishment phase altogether.
2,3) Krone and Willingham illustrate the problems associated with pseudoscience in the courtroom. I have read some on errors in arson investigations. The situation is much improved in the current science. Bitemark evidence was discredited long ago. (Please correct me.)
4) Woods illustrates the very issues before us today as a society. Getting tough on crime means more no-knock warrants and more felony murder executions. But when more innocents are killed by the police, now we must defund the police department with predictable results.
I do not agree with the sentiment behind the idea behind your warnig about “granting the government power.” When the tyrants take power they will not allow some precedent or law stop them. The stupid Republicans thought this way about the filibuster issue in the Senate.
Freegards!
BrianD
I do not believe that the possibility of a death penalty crosses the mind of some of the freaks that commit these crimes. They’re deranged. Even in states where people are executed, you still find animals that commit crimes that could land them on death row.
Certainty (for most normal/sane people) of being caught and being punished is more important than severity in most cases.
Example: if I threaten a kid that I’ll slap the crap out of him if he crosses a fence, but he then does it and nothing happens...
Capital punishment IMHO in necessary in special cases where people cannot return to normal unless this person is destroyed. There are people where as long as they are alive, others will be in fear of their return and a true sense of peace and normal cannot be achieved, example: Saddam Hussein, OBL...
People want to be good, but they are not. The seven deadly sins are the temptations which lead us into sin, we all fall victim to them, and any justice system is still just a man made and dynamic set of rules and procedures that WILL be abused. You can’t fix this problem with more technology and some revised process. Americans today have a technology fetish, thinking there is a tech solution to every problem out there. This simply isn’t true. In fact, most of the tech solutions are no more than eyewash, example TSA and their airport screening.
Broadening and liberally applying capital punishment is dangerous. It’s a slippery slope in who we execute. How about we execute people for insurrection?
Capital punishment is IMHO necessary, but it’s reserved for the most extreme cases.