Unequal justice
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Apr 29, 2015
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In recent legal news, the guy who shot up a Colorado movie theater pled not guilty by reason of insanity, and the guy who bombed the Boston Marathon was just convicted.
I'd like to put forth a likely controversial and possibly offensive position: I don't think all people deserve equal justice. I think in certain legal cases, when the evidence is overwhelming and the verdict is clear, the offender shouldn't be sent to jail or to a psychiatric facility. They shouldn't have an opportunity to better themselves or improve their mental health. They shouldn't have the possibility of gaining parole or freedom.
I think they should be publicly executed. I realize this is a ridiculously violent and archaic means of punishment. And I understand that there's the question of whether the death penalty is even effective at preventing crime. And I know that killing one person doesn't bring any kind of justice or comfort to the families of the victims these people killed.
For me, it's partly a practical concern. Prisons are expensive, and they're crowded. Why should I spend my tax money housing and nurturing a person who decided to break the law by killing a bunch of people?
But it's also value-based. I believe in psychology. I understand that a mental disorder can make a person do terrible things. But I think the scope of those terrible things, specifically multiple murders, should make a person ineligible for a second chance. In other words, I literally don't think the life of a mass murderer is worth saving. I'm intentionally placing a value on the life of mass murderers, and I'm saying that value is less than that of normal people. This makes me a judgmental monster, I know, but hey at least I haven't killed anyone. #law
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