Category: death penalty

Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 3 of 3

November 1, 2009 by Edmund Gall

Continued from:

• Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 1 of 3
• Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 2 of 3

The term 'death penalty' is a literary iceberg - two words that hide a huge amount of detail beneath the surface.  When I attempted to discuss this in the past, it bore little fruit because either folks assumed I had confrontational motives, or they were too emotional to explain their thoughts, or they wanted to address so many issues, that they were all over the shop in terms of coherence.

I believe there are cogent arguments for and against the death penalty, and others that are less logical.  I think folks too often rely on the illogical ones, thinking that quantity of supporting points is more important than their individual quality. These are then quoted wholesale as if impervious to challenge, but when questioned, the rationale given is feeble.

In this three-part post, I explore some of these arguments and state my opinion of them.  At this time, I believe that there is a case for the retention of the death penalty in T&T, with some modifications to the current implementation.  Let me know your views. {Read more}

Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 2 of 3

October 31, 2009 by Edmund Gall

Continued from:

• Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 1 of 3

The term 'death penalty' is a literary iceberg - two words that hide a huge amount of detail beneath the surface.  When I attempted to discuss this in the past, it bore little fruit because either folks assumed I had confrontational motives, or they were too emotional to explain their thoughts, or they wanted to address so many issues, that they were all over the shop in terms of coherence.

I believe there are cogent arguments for and against the death penalty, and others that are less logical.  I think folks too often rely on the illogical ones, thinking that quantity of supporting points is more important than their individual quality. These are then quoted wholesale as if impervious to challenge, but when questioned, the rationale given is feeble.

In this three-part post, I explore some of these arguments and state my opinion of them.  At this time, I believe that there is a case for the retention of the death penalty in T&T, with some modifications to the current implementation.

Let me know your views.

State executions desensitises the public {Read more}

Should T&T retain the death penalty? – Part 1 of 3

October 30, 2009 by Edmund Gall

The term 'death penalty' is a literary iceberg - two words that hide a huge amount of detail beneath the surface.  When I attempted to discuss this in the past, it bore little fruit because either folks assumed I had confrontational motives, or they were too emotional to explain their thoughts, or they wanted to address so many issues, that they were all over the shop in terms of coherence.

I believe there are cogent arguments for and against the death penalty, and others that are less logical.  I think folks too often rely on the illogical ones, thinking that quantity of supporting points is more important than their individual quality. These are then quoted wholesale as if impervious to challenge, but when questioned, the rationale given is feeble.

In this three-part post, I shall explore some of these arguments and state my opinion of them.  At this time, I believe that there is a case for the retention of the death penalty in T&T, with some modifications to the current implementation.

Let me know your views.

The wrong persons have been executed

One of the stronger reasons for abolishing the death penalty is the potential for executing the wrong person.  There is credible evidence of such cases in the past, particularly from the US. {Read more}