Replies

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.