Another argument against the death penalty
Mohammed Bouyeri, charged with the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, regrets that the cops didn’t kill him and that there is no execution ahead, reports the BBC:
[snip]
The judge read out transcripts of police recordings of Mr Bouyeri, who is said to have told his younger brother: “I knew what I was doing, and I succeeded. I swear to God, if there were a death penalty, I would be begging for it.”
When you think about it, isn’t this in fact a powerful new argument against capital punishment? People like Bouyeri crave ‘martyrdom,’ which according to their beliefs would instantly whisk them off to Paradise and the advertised 72 virgins, whereas everyone else must wait for the Day of Judgment to even have a chance of joining that club. So it is quite a bummer from their point of view to rot in prison for the duration of their natural lives, knowing they will thereafter be put on hold like any old non-combatant. Hence, by completely abolishing the death penalty, one makes it less attractive for terrorists to strike.
An idea for our American friends to develop further?
