Do Paedophiles Deserve the Death Penalty?

Over the course of this past week there was an ongoing discussion about accused paedophiles which elicited some rather predictable views from posters. Many called paedophilia "the worst crime imaginable" and described paedophiles and other sexual offenders as "scumbags" and "utter filth."

I certainly agree with these sentiments.

Where I disagree, however, is with what some people have proposed as a punishment for those convicted of such crimes: everything from castration, to skinning them alive, to the death penalty.

In the case of the death penalty, a number of posters have suggested that it would prevent the perpetrator from ever committing such heinous acts ever again.

Well, obviously it would have that result. But is it really the most appropriate way of dealing with sexual predators?

I really had trouble with the comment by poster wife, that sexual predators "should be taken out and shot when convicted," who also stated that "to eliminate these people is to cleanse society of utter filth."

I’m sure we can all agree that someone who abducts, sexually abuses, and then kills a child has committed the one of the most despicable, abominable acts possible. We do not want to give this person the opportunity to ever commit this crime again.

Let’s say we execute this person.

Will the execution turn back the hands of time, and restore the life, innocence, and freedom of the child? Of course not.

Will the execution enable the family and friends of the victim to forget what happened, or in any way help them to recover from the horrific loss they have experienced? Likely not.

The only purpose the execution serves is revenge. It is not justice, and neither is it punishment.

Let us now consider the sexual predator who abducts and molests a child, but does not murder the child. Do we execute this person, too?

What if there was no abduction? What if the abuser was someone known to the child. What if it was a relative, or a parent or sibling? Is execution still the most appropriate punishment?

What about the person who is convicted of possessing child pornography, but has never directly harmed a child? Do we execute this person, telling ourselves that we are preventing this person from actually progressing to abusing a child directly?

What if the victim isn’t a child? What about the adults who are attacked and raped, or otherwise sexually assaulted or physically abused? Do we execute their abusers, too?

wife tells us to "cleanse society of utter filth" like these sexual predators, but who defines what constitutes "utter filth."

Where does it end?

There was a time about eight or ten years ago when I did advocate for the death penalty in one particular instance: for those who would deliberately kill a police officer. At the time I believed that a person who would deliberately kill someone whose sworn duty is to uphold the law and protect us from the criminal element of society would have no compunction whatsoever in killing anyone. For that reason, I believed that the death penalty was warranted, because we would all be in danger from such a person.

Now, I am not so sure that the death penalty is appropriate, even in this case.

It is obvious that the death penalty is not a deterrent to any crime. If it were, there would be no crimes for which the death penalty would apply in those jurisdictions which support capital punishment. This is not the case.

Neither, as I said earlier, is the death penalty a form of punishment.

There were posters on Friday who claimed to not believe in God, and even those who insisted there is no such thing as God.

Okay. If there is no God, then it is logical to conclude that there is no afterlife. If there is no afterlife, and therefore no risk of eternal damnation, then death is neither a punishment for the wicked nor a reward for the saintly. It is simply the cessation of life. One would have no awareness that it had occurred.

So how would dying be a punishment?

Punishment would be to have one’s freedom permanently revoked: to be held in prison for the rest of one’s natural life, with no possibility of parole or early release.

The problem, currently, is that this seldom happens. Life sentences can be as short as a dozen years.

The justice system needs a complete overhaul, with a particular eye to making sentences appropriate to the crime committed. When a life sentence is issued, it ought to mean life. Period.

Yes, keeping prisoners in jail costs money. No, prison is not likely any more of a deterrent than the death penalty.

To me, however, a human life either has value or it doesn’t. However reprehensible and despicable a person may act, their life is not mine to take from them. I have no problem with locking someone like that up for the rest of their life.

Unfortunately, we will never completely rid ourselves of sexual predators, just as we will never rid ourselves of murderers, thieves, spousal abusers, drunk drivers, or other criminals.

Ironically, wife posted the comment "Post back what ever you want you will never change my mind." And yet, wife continued to post, in what I can only surmise was an attempt to change my mind.

Sometimes we must agree to disagree, and I believe this will be one such instance.

I may not change anyone’s mind on the subject of the death penalty, nor is anyone likely to change mine.

Let me be clear: I find these acts to be despicable, horrific, and unconscionable. I agree that these people ought to be removed from society, and never allowed on our streets or playgrounds ever again.

But I do not agree with having them executed for their crimes.


But… that’s just my opinion.