Justice, the death penalty, and how to get rid of it.

[Cyrano]

Everyone knows that the death penalty is not applied equally across the board. It depends on your color, your lawyer and the state you live in. So how about this idea.

We pass a law that to the effect that the death penalty can be applied only to those who believe in it. Upon turning 18 and registering to vote, there could be a box to check which indicates whether or not you believe in the death penalty.

Were such a law to be passed and signed (under some future enlightened administration and congress) how long do you think it would be before the death penalty was banished?

And before anyone says, "This would be a free pass to commit murder," life in prison with no chance of parole is not a free pass under anyone's definition.

[Burning Water]

1. How is that fair?

The laws must apply to everyone, equally. Either have the death penalty, or abolish it, but to subject someone to the death penalty for having an opinion on it is neither liberal nor progressive.

AS for your objections about the death penalty not being applied equally across the board, do you mean that you would support the death penalty if a rich, white man had an equal chance of being executed as a poor, black man? In that case, is not you objection ground more in a sense of racial and economic or class grievance than in any principled objection to the death penalty itself?

[Cyrano]

3. I didn't say it was fair.

But look at the outcome of the Limbaugh situation and then talk to me about fairness.

But before taking this any further, do you think my proposal is actually serious?

[Burning Water]

4. Sometimes on DU,

it is hard to tell. Lots of people make perfectly reasonable arguments. Others are nutcases, pure and simple. Some of the reasonable people will sometimes make outrageous suggestions. Sometimes it easy to detect the irony or the sarcasm, sometimes not. As I'm not particularly familiar with your body of work on DU, I have little to base a judgment upon.

Generally, I follow the principle that people meant what they said until proven otherwise.

As for Limbaugh, what a disgusting piece of work. However, first time offenders are generally treated leniently. It's not like he was selling the stuff to youth in the ghetto. It's not even like it was heroin or cocaine. So, I don't really think he should have gone to jail. But I hope this destroys whatever credibility he had with some people. :)

[Cyrano]

5. I should have added a "sarcasm" to the original post. Sorry about that.

[Burning Water]

6. No problem

:)

[ghostsofgiants]

2. How exactly does this get rid of it?

And what about those who change their mind about the death penalty?