Thread

1. tombert · 1790831351 · focus · HN ↗

   Oh yeah, I read about this.

   I'm pretty against capital punishment in general, so take that for what it is, but executing someone for something they did when they were eighteen really bothers me.

   I've never been a violent person but I do know that I was even more of an idiot then than I am now.

   1. sippingabonedry · 1790831581 · focus · HN ↗

      > for something they did when they were eighteen really bothers me

      She lured a classmate into the woods, slit her throat with a box cutter after torturing her for half an hour, bashed her skull open with a rock for good measure, then brought a piece of her skull to school the next day.

      > I was even more of an idiot then than I am now

      Do you think the above should be chalked up as normal childhood indiscretion?

      1. tombert · 1790832165 · focus · HN ↗

         > Do you think the above should be chalked up as normal childhood indiscretion?

         I didn't say there shouldn't be consequences. I just think that executing someone who committed a crime when they were effectively a child is kind of upsetting. I do not see how you extrapolated that I think it's "normal childhood indiscretion" out of what I said.

         1. sippingabonedry · 1790832464 · focus · HN ↗

            I interpreted it as an implication that it should be viewed as a lesser crime due to the perpetrator's age. At 18 you can:

            • Vote

            • Fight in the military

            • Act in pornography

            • Rent a car in MI, NY, QC

            • Many other adult things

            The crime perpetrated was premeditated and particularly demonic. It's a far cry from shoplifting a Snickers bar.

            > is kind of upsetting

            Bringing a chunk of the victim's skull to school to show your friends how good you are at murdering was probably pretty upsetting to a few people, like the victim's family and friends.

            1. jrflowers · 1790833192 · focus · HN ↗

               Execution is a weird thing for a civilized society to do and the bizarre people that fetishize it say weird shit like “It makes sense to murder somebody if they made other people upset” to avoid talking about how it doesn’t solve any problems that aren’t already solved by life imprisonment. The justification for execution is always “I want the state to kill people because I enjoy that sort of thing”

               1. eudamoniac · 1790866836 · focus · HN ↗

                  Society does not have an obligation to house and feed such people for decades on end. I'd rather they be killed because it should be much cheaper; whether it actually is or not by some aberration of dumb policy is not relevant to the philosophy. They are the enemy of society and are owed absolutely nothing but swift death, not room and board.

                  1. jrflowers · 1790875763 · focus · HN ↗

                     > I'd rather they be killed because it should be much cheaper; whether it actually is or not by some aberration of dumb policy is not relevant to the philosophy.

                     I appreciate this rephrasing of “I want the state to murder people because I enjoy that sort of thing”

                     I would ask if you think that the ~200 death row inmates that been exonerated of their convictions should be alive but uh you already answered that, unprompted

                     > nothing but swift death

                     “I want these people murdered because of a reason in my head, but even if the reason in my head weren’t true I’d still want to see them murdered” lmao I know it’s 2026 and it’s considered rude to kink shame but c’mon

                     1. eudamoniac · 1790876756 · focus · HN ↗

                        No, I'm just making two claims at once. It ought to be cheaper, normatively, and thereby it ought to be done. It's kind of like "I want to see slaves freed because humans should be free, even if there exists a lynch mob that is killing all the freed slaves." The existence of the pathological problem making the claim overall worse, currently, does not affect the philosophy that the slaves should be free (and also that there should not be a lynch mob).

                        The death penalty is supported by over half of the US population; any argumentative style that attempts to belittle or mock as niche this position in a form of appeal to consensus only works in certain bubbles. Your position is the more unpopular one, lmao.

                        1. jrflowers · 1790895615 · focus · HN ↗

                           “My lust for blood is like my courageous and bold stance against slavery. No one would mock me for saying this” lol

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