Good idea, makes it easier than having to go door to door telling your neighbors that you rape children.
Yeah, thank goodness for Japan for keeping America company in a list that reads like if were of the third world. Not a single European country no other country of western culture, no other country of Judeo-Christian values, not even Israel, just the good old US of A.
Western culture has long given human life a value which other cultures have not. I am not surprised that China and Japan use the death penalty today because historically they have been quite barbaric in their disregard for the value of human life. But the USA does not claim to belong to such group. It claims to belong to a western judeo-christian culture which places higher value on human life and human dignity. But often those who most vocally claim this are those who support the death penalty.
The USA is on the wrong side of history on this. Clearly the death penalty is being rejected in more and more countries but the USA rather than lead the way is having to be led. Like happened with slavery. I suppose there was a time in history when cultures which had slaves could be called civilized but there was a point in history when that changed but America chose to not change with the times. It seems the same thing is happening with the death penalty. In the meanwhile I suppose it must serve as some consolation that Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Yemen and Zimbabwe also still have the death penalty. Specially Zimbabwe. Let’s not forget Zimbabwe.
Israel does have the DP, under exceptional circumstances. Right there in my post.
Basicly, western European nations can’t have the DP, even if they want to. The EU has banned it. So, what ou are saying is that EU nations don’t have the DP, and the USA must follow their lead, eh?:dubious:
This makes no sense. You talk about the EU as if it were an external dictatorship imposed on European countries. The EU is a treaty into which nations have voluntarily joined and so if the “EU has banned the death penalty” it is because the member countries do not want to have it.
Did I say that? NO. I didn’t. You are making up shit. As usual.
I am saying that the trend in the world in general and in western nations in particular, including the USA, is retreating from the death penalty and that the USA is behind the curve rather than ahead. It is not leading but following. That is a fact.
They like cats.
Here’s what you said “…Pretty much all civilized countries have abolished the death penalty and the USA stands in the company of China, Saudi Arabia and other such countries when it comes to the death penalty…”
And I showed you that many other civilized countires still have the DP, such as Japan,Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Fiji, Israel, Latvia, & Peru, all of whom are civilized by anyones measure.
We also can include your favorite nation= *Hong Kong.
*
Then you moved the goal posts “Not a single European country no other country of western culture” which basicly = Western Europe. There are lots of *civilized *nations which are not part of the EU. Like I said, Japan is likely one of the most civilized nations on earth. And, you seem to think Hong Kong is a libertarian paradise.
So, the bit about “Pretty much all civilized countries have abolished the death penalty” is false. The EU has abolished it. "and the USA stands in the company of China, Saudi Arabia " … and another seventy plus nations.
Argue the DP is immoral, fine. But cut the crap about the USA standing nearly alone or in unsavory company as regards the DP. It ain’t so.
Originally Posted by pkbites
What about Japan?
I like my cats too. I don’t eat them, and if you’re insinuating the Japanese do, I demand a cite.
WTS (With That Said) there is a myth being spread that only 3rd world countries (and the USA) use death as a punishment for certain crimes. As far as I can tell, Japan is not a 3rd world country, nor one known for human rights abuses. At least not in modern history.
Yet, Between 1946 and 1993, Japanese courts sentenced 766 people to death, 608 of whom were executed. They have executed over 30 people in the last 2 years alone.
When debates over the death penalty come up, I notice that Japan seems to be ignored as a nation that uses it.
Post 25, though it’s more of a straight line.
I’m unclear which logical fallacy this is. Is it Appeal to common practice or is it Guilt by association?
I’m not sure. It seems like there’s a logical error in there somewhere. You make a fair point, I guess – it would be hard to disentangle the stats without running a controlled study (OK, NY, you’ll have death penalty for rape and CT you won’t. PA, we won’t tell you whether you have death penalty for rape. Let’s see how it all plays out.)
Those guys who wrote Freakonomic may be able to tease out whether DP for rape incentivizes rape followed by murder, disincentivizes rape overall, or what. I doubt that rapists and murderers are making a cool-headed calculation about what the punishment will be during the act, weighting the probabilities, and deciding what actions to take, though.