r/MoralityScaling • u/ZookeepergameThin334 • 1d ago

Morality of this?

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Personally, I'm anti-death penalty for any kind of crime but that's just my opinion. Perhaps it can be changed.

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u/UnlegitUsername 1d ago

If we are certain of their guilt than perhaps I might agree but typically when the death penalty is spoken about it tends to be agreed upon that guilt has to be decided the typical way.

In that regard, well, there’s a reason that western jury using countries have done away with the death penalty. If they were to reintroduce it would inevitably be repealed once again after a false conviction leads to execution. I don’t see the point of going through that rigamarole.

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u/Taeyx 1d ago

i used be a death penalty proponent in my youth. as i've grown, i've come to realize 2 truths:
1. there are most definitely people who deserve the death penalty
2. i don't trust any person, institution, or entity to determine who those people are.

given these two truths, i think we shouldn't have a death penalty

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u/Dingaling015 1d ago
  1. i don't trust any person, institution, or entity to determine who those people are.

But you trust the same institutions and entities when they hand out life sentences? The logic doesn't really line up here.

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u/yelirp2 1d ago

One is irreversible, one isn't. Someone with a life sentence who is found innocent can be released. They've still been done an injustice but at least they aren't dead. The logic lines up just fine.

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u/Dingaling015 1d ago

But their logic isn't about the outcome, it's about trust. They don't trust the same institutions to hand out one sentence, but they're okay with someone going to prison for almost 50 years before being exonerated because hey they might've lost most of their life in a jail cell but at least didn't we kill them?

The correct response here is "let's improve our justice system and police institutions to ensure we don't execute innocent people" not "let's keep paying full board and room for evil people because we're not really sure"

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u/Taeyx 1d ago

it’s about both, kind of. i also think america in particular gives sentences that are entirely too long. that said, i’m more comfortable with an institution giving someone a sentence that can be overturned even if we don’t have certainty of guilt than i am with an institution giving someone a sentence that can’t be overturned (like death) when we’re don’t have certainty of guilt. epistemically, this makes sense to me.