Re: Bad Reasons
Thinking about this some more, I was wrong to say I am in favor of the death penalty because it gives the families a measure of vengence. That would imply that we shouldn't execute someone who sadisiticly tortures a bum with no relatives. The vengence is on the part of society as a whole and the victims' families are a proxy for that. I didn't personally know the black dude who got chained to a pickup and dragged down the road, but I am rather glad the guys that did it were executed.
Another additional thought I has is that this debate can't be separated from emotion. I don't disagree with opponents of the death penalty because they are mistaken in their societal utility EV calculations - we disagree because we place different values on the outcomes. They place an almost infinite negative value on the possibility of wrongful execution and I place more value on vengence for a horrific crime. I can't do anything to change their core values, short of murdering a relative and short of wrongfully executing me (which I don't believe is possible) they aren't going to change my mind.
I'm fine with that. It is reasonable for people to have different values, but we should acknowledge that values are the basis for the disagreement, not powers of reasoning.
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