Death Penalty Madness
From time to time, people talk about when the death penalty is appropriate, and some think it should be re-introduced to Canada (at least Stockwell Day, seeking leadership of the new Canadian Reform Alliance Party is one of these). The death penalty is never appropriate and should not be reinstated in Canada.
People are wrongly convicted, and this doesn't cease to be true just because they are accused of crimes ``worthy'' of the death penalty. The David Milgaard case is a high-profile example: it took Mrs. Milgaard over 25 years of tenacious fighting to finally get her son's murder conviction overturned based on DNA evidence. [book] With a death penalty in effect, David's redemption would have been post-mortem and of little consolation to his family and friends.
It is usually claimed that the death penalty is a greater deterrent against committing crimes than the prospect of life imprisonment. This is not the case. Research from California, where the death penalty was not used from 1967 to 1991, shows that during periods of highly-publicized executions, the homicide rate increased over twice as quickly as when no executions took place. [study]
The most ridiculous argument for the use of the death penalty is cost: it is claimed to be cheaper to just kill off people who commit heinous crimes. The facts from the US show that this is not the case; the increased costs of trials and of the executions themselves far exceed what it would cost to keep someone in a maximum security facility for life years. [facts] Along the same lines, it is also claimed that is is impossible to rehabilitate some people. Simply because it is decided that someone can't improve is no reason to deny them a chance.
Murder is unacceptable, whether committed by a citizen during a fit of rage or by a government employee carrying out the orders of a court.