Quote from Haroki:
Good, I got somebody to agree that deterrence CAN work.
As a thinking man, you also say that life is not just black or white, correct? And that shades of grey exist also.
Therefore, there must be shades of grey regarding the 'passion' in crimes of passion.
So there will be varying levels of reasonableness, varying levels of thinking before and during the act.
So if the death penalty threat enters the mind of just one person, and prevents the death of an innocent, isn't it woth it now?
Quote from ZZZzzzzzzz:
Given you rarely display reason, I would expect a gun in your hands would always give rise to acts of passion....
Quote from Burtakus:
You may be confortable in your superiority of allowing a person to break into your home and threaten you and your family. I am not. fortunatly the state I live in allow sa person to protect his/her property and the lives of their family with deadly force if necessary. If a person is unreasonalble then they are basically capable of anything. I would rather be safe than sorry in this case and not take the chance of a family member being hurt or my property being stolen from a common criminal. Maybe you value the well being of a criminal above that of yours and your family and I am sure that works just fine for you. That concept just does not sit too well with me.
Just because you dont agree with a person right to defend their family and property does not give you the right to take that right away from a person.
Quote from ZZZzzzzzzz:
Muslim countries are well known for their harsh laws and sentences, their sense of justice is swift and merciless....yet they are also producing Islamic fascism which promotes "rationalized" violence.
Communist countries also had/have harsh laws and swift merciless justice....
Quote from ZZZzzzzzzz:
A reasonable man will not kill if he thinks he will spend his life in jail....
And no, saving one life through deterrent of capital punishment does not make killing others by the state a right action.
Quote from dgabriel:
Reasonable men (and women) can do very unreasonable things.
We not a bunch of Mr. Spocks, ZZZZzzz.
Your argument can extend to mitigate culpability of any crime.
Quote from ZZZzzzzzzz:
If you had a choice to stop a criminal breaking into your house without killing them or kill them, what choice do you make?
Quote from Haroki:
A reasonable man, correct. But again, what about those shades of grey? You didn't address that.........
What if he's, say, half resonable. Or starts beating someone in a fit of rage - unreasonable at the time - then becomes 'reasonable' when sanity enters his mind and says to himself, "shit, I'm gonna kill this guy, I better stop!" I know for a fact that happens,, 'cause I was the one doing the beating. Paid my pennance for it, now it's over. It kept me from doing the deed man, no joke. That's how i can have my position.
And by your second paragraph, I surmise that you respect the criminal more than the victim..........