A recent paper published in the Tulsa Law Review is worth a read. It raises the question, what would happen if an innocent person was executed? Well, the answer is quite obvious: All hell would break loose. But as Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier of the CUNY School of Law in Queens NY points out, the fact innocent people have been released from death row hasn't necessarily changed people's attitudes about the death penalty, just made them more nervous. What has happened is that groups have been desperately seeking a case of a wrongful execution to bolster their case and, sadly, it's become more and more futile, giving ammunition in favour of those who call those of us who oppose capital punishment "bleeding hearts."
The essay (in PDF) speaks for itself. And it does raise a good point: We're going to have to do more than just merely suggest the worst case scenario. We have to appeal to logic as to why life without parole is the more moral alternative.
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