GGPViper wrote:
MarketAndChurch wrote:
Those who argue that all murderers are sick or psychopathic must also argue that people who do extreme goodness are also sick or psychopathic... an argument that is never made, it seems that people think murder is mentally ill in some way because they assume the human's nature to be good in the first place. I never argue a murderer is mentally corrupted, it is as normal a human institution as rape or slavery.
I don't think you actually adressed my point. Do you believe that people who kill other people in acts of provocation, self-defense, diminished responsibility or when suffering from battered person syndrome should be put to death?
Oh, I totally apologize, I may have misread you. I am strictly speaking about premeditated murder. Strictly.
Crimes of passion, acts of provocation, self defense, and all the rest are different. Even a 14 year old boy who shot up a rival gang member as an entry requirement but had no criminal background prior to the act... That I am lenient on, I don't think and I certainly hope others don't think he is deserving of death row, though people can make their case if they feel otherwise.
Context determines morality. From rape, to murder, to extortion... there is are no absolutes that I can think of because life doesn't work like that. We have to square justice and compassion. What does Justice dictate? What does Compassion dictate? I hold that it is an absolutely immoral position to be anti-capital punishment in every circumstance, or pro-capital punishment in every circumstance.
Those who are compassionate to the cruel will be cruel to those who they should have the most compassion for, and those who demand we live in absolutes of justice will be cruel indefinitely because the principle is placed higher then people, instead of serving the people. Context determines everything.
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It is not up to you to finish the task, nor are you free to desist from trying.
05 Nov 2012, 4:20 pm
