How many times must a society absorb the felonies perpetuated by people against people? When does it become “too much” of a burden on society? How many times do I have to endure getting robbed/burglarized/brutalized by John Doe before he is writ up as an absolute liablity to society? When then is it justified to write off same? Is there no limit to wrongdoing short of murder that will justify execution?
How many times must society endure posts placed in the wrong forum? Won’t someone think of the children?!
As I’m against the death penalty to begin with, I’d say no, there is no limit.
Short of that, I don’t think any amount of property could should equal a human life.
Moving this from General Questions(of which there was none) to the Pit. Seems like a rant to me, rather than looking for a debate.
samclem Moderator, GQ
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
The answer is blowing in the wind.
I bet you’re a baseball fan. You know, ‘three strikes and you’re out’.
Ah, three-strikes laws. The return to the Bloody Code and the concomitant axiom of game theory, “May as well be hanged for a sheep as for a goat.” That means “If you’re facing the death penalty or similar anyway, you might as well commit a serious crime as a minor infraction.” That kept the crime rate down, let me tell you.
It also created the concept of “The prisons are full of third strikers so your first two crimes are freebies. Make them count.”
I prefer the older concept of “Let the punishment fit the crime.” Which, while it may upset the OP, means I do not favor executing people for stealing cars.
We need a Coventry.
Coventry
Exile imposed on those who act to harm others, to a “reservation” where the Covenant is not observed. Coventry is surrounded by a heavily guarded force shield to prevent the exiles from leaving without permission. The concept behind this treatment is that the government has no right to “punish” its members, but an individual who is unwilling to abide by society’s agreements may be ejected from the society. Exiles may re-enter the Covenant if they are willing to submit to psychological reorientation.
I suggest North Dakota.
I suggest Texas
The death penalty is not a deterrent. In fact, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that it actually has the opposite effect.
So your solution, boiler, is in effect just another crime: it’s first degree murder–revenge killing for personal satisfaction–with a thin veneer of societal connivance. Which makes you eligible for your own final solution, as I see it.
In other words, yeah just what we need, a return to a medieval society in which the primary function of the government is to murder its citizens. THAT’LL solve a lot.
New OP+BBQ Pit=old sauce.
I suggest Idaho, then. ::grumbles::
Agreed–but this time we’ll plug that damn whole under the river.
Hell, no, we’ve got enough twits here as it is. :smack:
Let’s really spice this up; how many adults have to be victimized by juvenile offenders who face minimal consequences for major offenses?
Idaho works for me. 
No, not Idaho, I don’t want to leave!
Okay Arizona then.
Besides if you put them here in Idaho they’ll just trot off into the woods and start militias.
Sixty-two. I hope that clarifies matters.
What the heck; some people are just doing life sentences on the installment plan.
Actually the idea of a Coventry sounds pretty good; some people are just destined to return to jail all the time, just find a cheap, hardy alternative. If only the country had a place to ship people to that was difficult to escape from - say, Alaska or Hawaii or Siberia. “One more offense and you’re off to Honolulu”.
That’s been tried, though. The British did it and unwittingly inflicted vegemite on the world. Never again, man, never again.