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OftenBen · 1883 days ago · link · · parent · post: The Death Penalty Can Ensure ‘Justice Is Being Done’
That speaks to the desire innate in most people to believe that the rule of law comes from something other than the State's monopoly on violence.
I think that often times restraint can be a show of strength, and that expressions of violence can be a sign of weakness. Like the schoolyard bully who needs to prove his toughness over and over, the retributive justice of the death penalty gives us a story to tell ourselves about how tough we are. The state could have the same monopoly on violence and not exercise it so freely. It's a confident person who has all the power in the world and chooses not to use it wantonly.
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