Death penalty discussion from Walt Bodine Show
The Walt Bodine Show today was on the Morality and ethics of the death penalty. They were basically ineffective at discussing the topic and did not even get to my email. So, I post it here.

On the subject of the Death Penalty discussion...

In order to be for or against such a penalty, one must examine the goal of the justice system in place.
Justice systems are put in place by society to address behavior that is outside what is considered "acceptable" to that society.

A justice system may have one of three goals: Protection of the Society as a whole, Retribution, or justice, for improper behavior, or Rehabilitation to "right" thinking.

If the goal of the justice system is protection of the society from the dangerous behavior of individuals, we must look at the justice system's punishments from a purely societal view. The only sure way to ensure the safety of a society from deviant behavior is the permanent removal of the individual from the society. There are three ways to achieve this: permanent exile, permanent incarceration, or execution. Exile can rarely be enforced in a society larger than the tribe level, so would be unacceptable in our society because it does not achieve the permanent solution. Permanent incarceration puts a burdon on society as those that have behaved properly now have to "pay" for the maintenance of the deviant individual for an indefinant length of time. Execution achieves the goal of protection of the society.

If the goal of the justice system is retribution, or justice, for improper behavior, then the old adage of "eye for an eye" comes to mind as appropriate. The level of the punishment should be equal to the level of the deviant behavior. Theft of property equals removal of personal property of equal value or monetary equivalent. Rape equals rape. Murder equals execution.

If the goal is rehabilitation of the social deviant, then a system of changing the nature and way of thinking of the deviant individual must be put in place. This would mean extensive altering with psychological counseling, reward/punishment training, relocation away from the environment in which the deviant behavior was learned and reinforced, and eventual trust and encouragement to succeed in the society. This is currently beyond our capacity as a society and does not even appear to be a goal. And PROPER behavior must be rewarded in kind. A system can not just be based upon negative reinforcement. A purely negative reinforcement system does not work with animals, children or anyone else seeking training of any sort.

With all goals, the punishments should be at a level to be a deterant to other individuals against improper behavior as judged by the society. Punishments must come swiftly after the transgression else the meaning is lost. Punishments must be publicized to the entire society so that the society as a whole may see that improper behavior is punished.

The current system we have in place does not achieve any of these goals, btw.