Innocent by whose standards? They choose to live there, be taxed by ISIS (or whoever). Certainly not the standard of people like ISIS.
They chose to live there and be taxed by the I.S.? All of them?
This seems like such a simple thing. In both war and criminal justice involving capital crimes, there is a balance between my desire to have state-sanctioned killing be equal to zero and my desire to minimize the risk of death, injury and property loss to myself and my fellow citizens. Murderers and enemy combatants have proven track records of risking death, injury and property loss to myself and my fellow citizens. In one case, the murderer up for the death penalty, is already incarcerated and cannot easily cause further harm. The enemy combatant is loose and can cause further harm. To further underline this simple point: I would not approve of killing a POW.
This is not to say that it’s black-and-white and there are no ethical issues to further address: the convicted murderer who kills a person in prison, or collateral damage. These consequences can only be minimized and work can be done to improve the system further to achieve zero deaths in prison and no collateral damage on the battlefield.
Quartz, if you think the common citizen of Mosul is a collaborator instead of a victim just trying to survive then why don’t you specify what they are supposed to be doing instead of just handing down judgement based on their geographic location.
:smack:
Yes, of course! And you chose where you were born, right?
You need to examine the scope and purpose of the whole of the two systems, not just the isolated acts of killing in either.
It’s obvious you can have a justice system that does a pretty good job without it including the death penalty. It’s very hard to have a functional military that doesn’t include deadly force against enemy soldiers.
Perhaps you are unaware of the large numbers fleeing to Europe?
Ipso facto, anyone that has not fled is a collaborator?
Perhaps you are unaware of the border that has closed between Turkey and Syria? Perhaps you are unaware of the thousands that have died on the journey? Perhaps you are unaware of the gruesome death that awaits one who is caught fleeing ISIS controlled territory? Perhaps you are unaware of the monetary cost of making the journey? Perhaps you are unaware of the uncertainty that awaits at the end of the migration?
Perhaps you should put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself what brave sorts of behaviors you would engage in when faced with the decision of keeping your head down and standing a 99.9% of surviving or sticking your head out and having a 1% chance of dying along with all your loved ones.