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This debate has taken a turn over the discussion of capital punishment. A justice system serves to rehabilitate, deter others, and incapacitate those committing crimes. However, one minor aspect that often gets overlooked is the victims who usually get “closure” through this.

Good example:
http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2005/04/13/News/Examining.Execution-2052470.shtml

Is it pure coincidence that most executions are usually attended by the family of the victims? No. The execution is a permanent irreversible act which no longer allows the most heinous criminals an opportunity of escape (Dahmer escaped for example). It no longer allows them to propagate hate in the media which often will gladly stick a microphone in their face because they see a controversial story. Finally, an execution is cheaper. You watch, within 5 years you’ll see a book on the RAF and Mohnhaupt and others will “profit” from their terrorism. Want to bet? The argument which you propose is a perversion of the core benefit of capital punishment, irreversibility. In the perversion this benefit is twisted into an argument as to why it should not be done because of the possibility of a mistake. Fact is, since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, there has not been a single case where it can be said conclusively a mistake had been made. It’s all speculation and accusations, but in over 3,000 executions not one can be said to have been falsely executed.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/cp00.txt

In the US, the average cost of a high security inmate in a prison is $34,000 per year (2006). In Germany, it surly is not much different that a high security prison costs a lot. Furthermore, Mohnhaupt will be shadowed by the BVS for the rest of her life. She will cost the German tax payer hundreds of thousands per year now that she is out, and even though Der Spiegel won’t report it, it will cost the tax payer more now that she is out of prison than in prison, believe it or not.

You perform an execution for three reasons. It’s cheaper, permanent, and it brings closure for the victims. An execution is not done for rehabilitation or deterrence sake. Someone like Dahmer was not thinking about being executed while committing his crimes and deterrence does not play a factor when looking at the psyche of those doing these sorts of things. It’s done for society’s sake, not the criminal or terrorist.

Prime example: Timothy McVeigh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh

He was guilty, many of the families of victims attended the execution, he won’t ever go free like a Mohnhaupt, he’s not making money from his “terrorism”, and he’s no longer living off of my tax dollar. This vile creature’s existence is over.

The argument that we should "lock them up and throw away the keys" never seems to hold in the long run, as Mohnhaupt and others prove.

''The argument that we should "lock them up and throw away the keys" never seems to hold in the long run, as Mohnhaupt and others prove''
Indeed very true. And I would still like to know the percentage of the populace in Germany, which support this release. Most people I have spoken to recently are not in favor of it. The police union and the Schleyer family don`t seem to be alone in this issue. It looks more like the 'Schicki-Micki' lefty elitist have used (abused ?)their power to release her ( and expect Christian Klar soon to follow) on the first possible date. It´s a shame.

As I already said in my #27 it is a question of different values in our penology systems. It was a very cognizant decision not to execute people after 1949 anymore in (west) Germany and this decision is even part of our constitution, the Grundgesetz.

Why are people not executed in Germany? Answer: Retaliation is -in sharp difference to the American legal system- no important value for itself anymore.

The families of Schleyer or your family -in this case- only can take minimal influence on a lawsuit as a joint plaintiff (Nebenkläger).

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebenkl%C3%A4ger

You say that capital punishment in the US is done for society’s sake.

Same could be said about the German refusal to do it. Since we follow different values and we are for good reasons afraid of wrongful convictions it is not part of our penalization anymore. Our society probably would enter a major crisis if it would be obvious that the German State killed somebody innocent again after 1945.

As I said - different countries, different attitudes. Therefore it can be right for us what is wrong for you. We have a different history and a different socialization than Americans.

I do not say that capital punishment is always wrong and Baader, Meinhof and Ensslin were probably executed by my own gouvernment (as you probably know the German gouvernment speaks of suicide* - I can not say which version of the story is wrong or right) in a rightful decision to prevent other left terrorists from more blackmail after the highjack of the Lufthansajet "Landshut" in 1977. The existance of those terrorists posed a eminent danger to other people and therefore it was good to get rid of them.

The real problem in Germany is not the absence of capital punishment, it is the inconsequence of legal practice. If a life sentence would be really a life sentence I would be perfectly content. It is indeed unbearable that Mohnhaupt is able to make a business out of her disgusting life. I share this point of view with you.

* If it happened the way I think (we all know that Strauss suggested to execute as many terrorists as the highjackers of the Landshut kill passengers) is was done for society’s sake. One one hand our gouvernment of 1977 refused to change our fundamental values in our penalization system because of this isolated incident, on the other hand it was nessecary to protect our fellow citizens from the terrorist threat.