why the death penalty should be brought back, page-26

whatGFC,

"g'day Director12

illogical post try again with your words not mine"

Not sure what was illogical about it?
But OK, I'll try again.
What actions is it OK for us to take as a society for the safety of that society and where do we draw the lines?

IMO, our duty to care for each other here on Earth vastly overrides any percieved obligation that we have to help 'some' people on their alleged path to enlightenment. I believe that path exists, I also believe that is a privilege to be on that path but I do not believe in reincarnation. (For the purposes of discussion I will talk as if I do though, maybe? :)

Now most people are happy to go about their own lives in way that they believe will make them happy, they might not be particularity good or bad people (in relative terms of course)but they wont go out of their way to harm others either and that's OK by me. There are some people who DO go out of their way to harm others in a variety of different ways and that's the basis (or should be) of what we call 'law'. The law is not there for governments to enforce their will, it's not there to protect us from ourselves, it exists to protect us from each other. The law is meant to protect you from me and me from you. The law was also (back the day before it became a tool for despots)based on the inherent laws existent in the universe, imbued there as a part of the nature of the very being that created that universe.

We intuitively recognise that some things are bad, some things are good and some things are neutral and when we see something 'bad' (in the criminal sense) something in us cries out for justice, the OP being the case in point. Even relativists do this. Hence the dictum "let the punishment fit the crime". So IMO, there are some crimes when given the due process of law (with special effort to avoid getting the wrong person of course) that are deserving of capital punishment. CP serves us on a number of different levels. Firstly it removes the threat of further violence form society from the person concerned, secondly it removes 'fear' from society that a violent convicted criminal is still out there or could be released back into society to re-offend and destroy other lives (countless examples exist), thirdly it may act as a deterrent to others who would act in the same way.

In terms of a reincarnation POV, a society would be bringing good Karma on itself by weighing up the options and choosing the lesser evil. Executing those who are deserving of it makes society a better place for all who want to live their lives in peace. In terms of the convicted they would be paying Karma for their actions and would then get to reincarnate in a less harmful form, it's a win-win for everyone.