> Timothy Mcviegh will die tomorrow at 8:00am EST. What are your thoughts on this?
>
> ht"realizing how inappropriate his Sn is for this topic"aeD

I have no doubts that the punishment McVeigh received is just: the death penalty is clearly legal in the US, and I would say it is ethical as well. Every single one of us has the right to self defense. If you kill someone who is attacking you, that is not a crime. The government is (supposed to be) the conglomeration of its people and their rights, so it is completely analogous to allow the government to defend its people up to and including the use of violence.

Morally, the apostle Paul seems to acknowledge that crimes can be worthy of death in Acts 25:11, and elsewhere.

As a deterrent, I don't know how effective it is. I've heard police reports that criminals admitted being unable to go through with murder for fear of the death penalty. I've also talked to judges and lawyers who say the majority of criminals are dumb as bricks and don't even consider punishment while committing a crime. Statistics claim to show the death penalty is not an effective deterrent, but how does one count crimes that were not committed? In any case, I don't think punishment needs to have any relation to rehabilitation or deterrence. It isn't a social program, it's just justice. If it does accomplish those others, they're merely icing.

Sometimes people compare the homicide rates of the US and UK as an argument against the death penalty's deterrence. Regardless of the truth, that comparison can't be made, because the two systems count homicides differently. The US counts suspects, the UK counts convictions. I would guess that the police don't count victims because they are really only concerned with finding and punishing the guilty party.

gab"Or just read what Bo said"by