death penalty news
April 26, 2005
USA:
The Death Penalty
A couple posts from the always-valuable Brad Plumer has gotten me thinking
about the Death Penalty.
Before going into this, I should note that 1) in most cases, I have no
moral problem with applying the death penalty to murderers, but 2) I do
have a practical problem with applying the death penalty in an environment
of uncertainty. All things equal, I'd just as soon abolish the death
penalty (short of anything but an Executive Order), and adopt an idea
proposed by (populist blowhard) Bill O'Reilly...
"Killers, rapists, drug kingpins and terrorists should all be subjected to
life in prison without parole in a federal work camp. This special prison
system would be run military style and be located on federal land in
Alaska. It would be in effect a gulag.
"Here the worst criminals in the country would be banished and forced to
labor eight hours a day, six days a week in the harsh climate. They would
be denied television, computers, exercise equipment (as if they'd need it)
and most other "comfort" items. Their mail would be screened, and they
would only be allowed a few visitors per year.
"If the criminal did not cooperate with the work detail, his food rations
would be cut, and he would be placed in solitary confinement."
Such a move would appeal to the "law and order" Righties and the "repeal
the death penalty" Lefties. It would also grease the extradition of
criminals from countries that don't currently allow extradition to the US,
while eliminating one of the popular international talking points used to
bash the United States.
But that last point is curious. Why is the existence of the death penalty
trotted out by Europeans, Canadians, et al, as evidence of our moral
depravity? To be sure, Europe, Canada, et al, don't have the death
penalty...but it's not for lack of popular support:
Canada: "A national poll conducted in June, 1995 found that 69% of
Canadians moderately or strongly favoured the return of the death penalty..."
Italy: Pro-Death Penalty 58% // Opposed 42%
Great Britain: "opinion polls have shown that between two-thirds and
three-quarters of the population favors the death penalty"
France: "In France, clear majorities continued to back the death penalty
long after it was abolished in 1981; only last year did a poll finally show
that less than 50 percent wanted it restored."
Oddly, it's the reliably Democratic Joshua Micah Marshall who made this
point in The New Republic:
"It's true that all of America's G-7 partners, save Japan, have abolished
capital punishment, but the reason isn't, as death-penalty opponents
usually assume, that their populations eschew vengeance. In fact, opinion
polls show that Europeans and Canadians crave executions almost as much as
their American counterparts do. It's just that their politicians don't
listen to them. In other words, if these countries' political cultures are
morally superior to America's, it's because they're less democratic."
Still, I'm sympathetic to the practical arguments for ending the death
penalty. In addition to the problem of uncertainty, Brad Plumer points to
another benefit...
"...David Fontana claims that the Supreme Court, by using international
opinion, will increase America's standing and respect among the world. Of
course, what he really meant is that it will increase America's standing
and respect?it's "soft power," if you will?among world leaders. That's
obviously important, since it makes it somewhat more likely that those
leaders will adopt American norms, or trust American intentions, or
whatever else. But trust among leaders isn't everything. Ideally we also
want to increase our standing and respect among populations in other
countries, since popular opinion constrains what those world leaders do.
It's not clear that abolishing the death penalty for minors will win us
many fans among the masses abroad."
I'll agree with his suggestion that ending the DP would "increase America's
standing and respect...among world leaders", but I'd argue that?contra
Plumer's view?it would also benefit America among the foreign masses, as
well. After all, the primary international objections to the United States
have been with our belligerence, propensity to violence and disrespect for
international standards. It seems to me that uliminating the death penalty
would soften our harsher edges in the public view...as well as eliminating
a talking point for our opponents.
All of this is, of course, subservient to the more practical problems with
the Death Penalty. Still, it's worth thinking about.
(source: Questions and Observations, www.qando.net)
