Unpopular Opinion
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Vote the opposite of the norm.
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It comes down to what you feel the purpose of our justice system is, including capital punishment.
My personal opinion is that, despite its name, capital punishment shouldn't be thought of as a punishment. I feel that we should use the death penalty or life in prison when we feel that a person can't ever be allowed back into society, and it's more of a societal judgement which of those two measures we take.
I think in all cases, if we could heal a person so that they'd never repeat a crime again, that's the better course. The reality is that most really horrible crimes stem from some kind of mental illness. If we could rehabilitate the people, it seems like that's better for everyone.
Yes. When I think of a just system it's more like...
Person commits crime and goes to rehabilitation, if they can't be rehabilitated then they are imprisoned or exiled, if they are still a threat there that's when it may become necessary to execute. It's not a punishment, it's a last resort for the safety of others.
Yep, that's how I feel as well.
My feeling is that our justice system exists to do exactly what the name implies: to enact justice. I think where my thinking differs from a lot of people is in what I consider "justice" to be.
Sometimes, justice is rehabilitating an offender. If someone steals so that they can pawn the stolen items and get some money for food, then of course they deserve rehabilitation. Give them an opportunity for an education or to learn a useful skill so that they have a better chance of being able to support themselves without stealing.
On the other hand, sometimes justice is punitive, and sometimes death is an appropriate punishment. I think it ultimately comes down to if your own personal moral code says that everyone deserves a second chance. I personally believe that not everyone does.
I hear what you're saying, and I think the place where you and I diverge is on the type of crime and what its roots are. Most vanilla-type crimes, like theft or simple assault, and committed by people of sound mind who are assholes or just don't care much about other people. Manslaughter can be that, especially the heat of the moment stuff. But the really horrible things - the things that tend to put people on death row - take someone who has severe issues.
The guy who kills a family, cuts the bodies into pieces, and eats parts of them, isn't just a jerk; there's something seriously wrong with him. So I don't necessarily feel like those people deserve retribution as much as they need fixing.
Of course not all of them can be fixed, but to me that's the first priority.