More on Death Penalty

When a controversial issue like the death penalty (or physician assisted suicide) makes big headlines, even though I'm usually partial to one side, I like to use this space to provide reasoned arguments for both sides. That way, I hope we can have the healthiest discussion possible about what are really difficult issues.

Since I'm not in a frame of mind to do my own intensive thinking on this subject (wisdom teeth extraction, blech), I thought I'd share some good resources I've found on the web.

This page posts some great questions to consider when thinking about the death penalty, all boiling down to, what is the purpose of instituting the death penalty:

--Is the purpose of the death penalty to remove from society someone who would cause more harm?

-- Is the purpose to remove from society someone who is incapable of rehabilitation?

-- Is the purpose of the death penalty to deter others from committing murder?

-- Is the purpose of the death penalty to punish the criminal?

-- Is the purpose of the death penalty to take retribution on behalf of the victim?

And this page, put together by a group of students at The University of Texas at Austin, seems to offer a good overview of pro and con arguments. Definitely worth looking over.