[remicmacs]

From my european perspective, capital punishment is such a weird idea. Never I have came across strong evidence for a deterrent effect. And if you just quickly look at the Wikipedia article [1], it looks like it's really difficult to say whether it actually results in a more peaceful society or not (I mean Japan uses it extensively).

To me, it looks like something that has more to do with a country's culture than with actual scientific studies arguing for or against.

Full disclosure : I think we're better without capital punishment where I live. If only because it's easier to "fix" a mistrial when the convict is not dead meat.

But also because I think it's to powerful a tool for an autoritarian leader that would get elected and could use it right away. That does not mean that such a leader could not reinstate it in a country that does not have capital punishment anymore, but that would take more time and maybe some people could use this time to realize what kind of leader this person is.

Well that's my two cents. It is only my opinion, I'm not trying to offend or convince anyone else. And I don't presume any moral high ground for my point of view or anything. Just saying how I see this subject having been raised in a country that dropped death penalty since before I was born, is all.

(Trying to be extra careful here since it's a sensitive subject and the USA is not my country and English is not my mother tongue. Sorry if I offended someone).

[1]Capital punishment by country : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_by_country