Quote:
Originally Posted by tis
I have nothing against police officers either, but have often wondered why their lives are so much more important than the rest of us.
|
The whole point of the death penalty is deterence. It isn't that society values the police more or an eye for an eye or anything like that. It's that they are more likely to end up killed during the course of a crime. So, to deter those commiting a crime from killing a police officer they made that one of the inflating elements.
And, please, stop blaming the lawyers. It is the legislatures that pass these laws and most of them are NOT lawyers. It is lobbying groups that push for these statutes - conservative, powerful lobbying groups. Not the lawyers. Lawyers HATE the death penalty - too hard to prove, too expensive, and, ultimately, too pointless since the courts in some states (NJ, CT, etc.) will never uphold a capital case.
And, for what it is worth, wouldn't you really rather end your life than spend 20, 30, 40 or however many years you have left in jail? Death is a preferable alternative to life in prison with no possibility of parole.