Absurd to claim seven lives saved by each execution
Although I didn’t think it was possible for Nigel Pike to reach higher levels of absurdity than he already has, he really outdid himself with his letter supporting the death penalty.
He tells us that an economist (not a criminologist or a law professor) claimed that for every person who is executed, seven lives are saved. Although I’m going out on the limb I speculate that Mr Pike learned about this economist from “alternative news”, where he gets most of his nonsense from.
Common sense has to tell you that it’s crazy to believe that every person who has been executed – even people who weren’t executed for murder or could have been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole – would have killed seven people if they were allowed to live.
Still, I’ll admit there are extreme cases where I would support the death penalty. But generally the arguments against it – such as that an innocent person might get executed, are better than the arguments supporting it.
Eric Bahrt
