Capital Punishment

[InbetweenDreams]

@"marshlander" that is true. We should think that giving someone who previously was unable to experience empathy a good thing...then the begin to realize all the horrible things they did which would be a lot to swallow. That person is stuck with the memories, now feeling the full range of emotion. How could anyone really live with themselves? After previously either being unable to experience something like empathy or simply not being able to distinguish right from wrong. Should we just zap their memories if that were possible? I don't think we really know for sure but I'd imagine that someone who did something bad, like murder a family who had no ability to feel, or know that doing such was wrong...assuming we can fix all the things that are physically wrong...would probably commit suicide if they could all of a sudden relive doing it knowing and feeling how F'ed up their actions were. I don't but definitely opening a one big bag of worms.

What about something like neuralink? What if there was an implant that could stop you from doing something messed up? I think there have been discussion about where I'm now going with this. I don't think people would want to be controlled by something else, even if were for good...because we all know many things start out for good intentions. Then it all become dystopian like....

[kindy64]

What about something like neuralink? What if there was an implant that could stop you from doing something messed up? I think there have been discussion about where I'm now going with this. I don't think people would want to be controlled by something else, even if were for good...because we all know many things start out for good intentions. Then it all become dystopian like....

And who decides what is "messed up," that is always the problem with drugs and other outside influences to our thoughts. Don't forget, they used to chemically "treat" homosexuals. And there are plenty of people who murder who DON'T have the psychological issues you talk about.

There is no appreciable cost difference between keeping someone in prison for life versus putting them on death row.  Death row inmates still get legal representation and file appeals to have their cases reheard.

I'm sorta in the middle on this. There are acts so heinous that I think people loose their humanity in committing those acts. Mass shootings and acts of terrorism for instance are so bad I don't think we should risk keeping those people around.  A simple murder during a robbery gone wrong, not so much.  It is only because so many people in the later case have been wrongly convicted, that I'm leaning more on side of increasing the bar for the death penalty or eliminating entirely.

[InbetweenDreams]

And who decides what is "messed up," that is always the problem with drugs and other outside influences to our thoughts. Don't forget, they used to chemically "treat" homosexuals. And there are plenty of people who murder who DON'T have the psychological issues you talk about.

That is a conundrum. I suppose the trouble is that good and bad are social constructs. At different times and civilization things that are considered horrible by modern society were generally accepted. So who does decide who gets put away for life (or executed for that matter?) what constitutes an offense so bad that capital punishment is needed. Perhaps there isn't a singular answer, or not even a correct one.



After opening this thread and spending more time think about it I find myself to be at a loss. I do think there are, like you say, some people that are just better off not existing any longer.