The Myth of Draconianism

Punishment has become a bad word, but it shouldn’t be . . .

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Comments (6)

Up through law school I did not support the death penalty. Shortly afterward for a variety of reasons I changed my mind, especially as it applies to a certain breed of murderer. The only thing that bothers me now is that it does create, so to speak, more victims, those being those close to the offender–such as parents, etc.–who have to go through the ordeal. That said, when the Washington state Supreme Court–a state where I have spent a lot of time–essentially used the cover provided by yet another lawless progressive governor–current Washington state Governor Jay Inslee who said he would not deign to do his job and carry out death penalty sentences–and declared the entire death penalty unconstitutional under state law, as purportedly it was being applied more often to non-whites for various reasons, including non-racial reasons such as the finances of the local prosecutor’s office, I disagreed. If indeed non-whites are subject to the death penalty more often for untoward reasons–which never has been shown regardless–then the answer is to execute more whites, not throw the baby out with the bathwater. And, frankly, I strongly suspect, for example, that Asians are subject to less death penalty prosecutions even than whites because Asians appear consistently less prone to violence than even whites, let alone than other cultures.

March 2, 2023 Michael Kaiser Reply

The most egregious perpetration of nonsense in the entire Constitution is the prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment” in the 8th Amendment. Should the punishment fit the crime? Yes. That is the very essence of penological logic. So, when the crime is “cruel and unusual” so shall the punishment. The 8th Amendment is a blatant and atrocious violation of (crime against) the fundamental logic (mathematics) of punishment–which is primarily retribution and only secondarily deterrence and other putative purposes. Eye for eye, tooth for a tooth, FIRST. All else is superstructure. We did not need to wait for the Warren Court’s calamitous mischief of the 60s in the field of criminal justice. The injustice was built into the Bill of Rights via the 8th Amendment. The punishment will NOT fit the crime since 1791. For my own article on the Attica Prison Riot, which exposes the rot and fatal sophistry in the prison context, see this article from the Sept. 2021 edition: https://chroniclesmagazine.org/society-culture/massacre-of-the-guards/

March 15, 2023 Nick Reply

Punishment has become a bad word when it is to be levied against the usual suspects–violent gangs, rapists, murderers. Yet, step out of line against creative pronoun language, disagreement over CDC policy, or the grooming of children in our school systems, and be prepared to be punished on many societal fronts.

March 15, 2023 Maha Reply

Christian apologist C. S. Lewis was in favor of the death penalty. He said that a person who committed a crime egregious enough to have that penalty imposed needed to think about his life and “get right with God” so to speak lest he be eternally damned. Lewis believed that if such a man (or woman) knew that he was going to die in a week or a month, he would at least attempt to gain forgiveness by repentance as long as he was sane enough to understand the concept. But if he were simply put into prison, he could live for decades, dropping dead before he ever had to deal with the matter of his life after death. We’re all going to die. The innocent die; the guilty die. There are crimes worthy of the ultimate punishment and what we see today with violence and sadism proves that our “kindness” has saved neither the victim nor the criminal.

March 15, 2023 Valerie Protopapas Reply

Cases such as the following are the exception; but I have no solution other than the death penalty in this circumstance. How else can society – which includes prison employees – be protected? Read the New York case of Lemuel Smith.

March 15, 2023 Bob Ewald Reply

Harsher punishment for violent and property crime. Eye for eye and car for car. Violent criminals should receive whatever violence they dish out. Death penalty at the hands of the victim’s family superintended by the state. Beatings in public by the victim as retribution to the criminal. Property crime should be rectified by the criminal paying back the victim plus the same amount to harm him as much as he harmed the victim plus a bit more for emotional distress.

Victimless crimes shouldn’t be punished by jail but by rehab or counseling. I think it would be best to involve family and extended family in discussions with the law about what should happen.

But Pedro is right, old school eye for an eye punishment is more civilized than what we have today. What we have today is more injustice than justice. More about why that is in the link.

https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-ethics-of-liberty-punishment-and.html

March 16, 2023 RMB Reply

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