[thechat] [ugh]

Erika Meyer emeyer at lclark.edu
Tue Jul 9 14:32:00 CDT 2002


Syed wrote:

>Earlier there was no death sentence for dacoits and robberers but now
>there is. Observe yourself the decrease in rate of robberies and
>dacoities in Pakistan.

Similarly, I have read that under the communist regime in Russia,
crime was much lower than it is now.  And under the Taliban in
Afghanistan, crime was much lower than it is now.

Of course, this is assuming that crimes are only committed by people
on the street, not by governments... it assumes that execution is not
a crime.

A lower crime rate does not mean the death penalty is either just or
humane.  Human rights orgs are right to go after our countries for
our love of violence and execution.

In my opinion, punishment (aka oppressive or violent response to
anti-social activity) for children or adults costs society far, far
more than it benefits.

How to deal with criminal behavior?  Deal with social problems.
Educate, feed, and empower people.  It oughta be a no-brainer.

But it's easier and more dramatic just to lop their heads off, I guess.

Damn, that phonetic alphabet.

Erika

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