Anti-Deterrence

Logical Critique

Most violent crimes are not premediated or rational, committed in moments of passion, fear, or some other eventuating circumstance.

What position does the logical critique appeal to?

That assuming all individuals act rationally under cost-benefit calculation is a categorical error unable to consistently explain actual moral agents like humans.

Requirements for effective deterrence

For deterrence to work, punishments must be swift, certain, and widely known.

Why does the death penalty fail?

Is often delayed for years, rarely applied, and inconsistently publicized.

Brutalization of Society

Executing people, especially as endorsed by state authority, dulls the public conscience, normalizes violence, and contradicts the very idea that killing is wrong. W

What does the brutalization of society appeal to?

A virtue ethics framework, one where the emphasis is on the moral character of a society which can be cultivated or corroded. What kind of people are we becoming by endorsing killing as justice?