The World According To Alan

If I Were President: Death Penalty

Abolish the Death Penalty - Somewhat Oppose

The only problem I have with the death penalty is that if you make a mistake, it can't be reversed. So I support it only when there's no doubt whatsoever that the person is actually guilty.

I don't understand the people who think it's somehow inhumane --- locking someone up in a cage for the rest of their lives isn't? Why should the rest of us pay to support someone who's shown a total disregard for the lives of others (or else they wouldn't be on death row in the first place)? There are those who probably support the notion of letting them suffer living in a cage for the rest of their lives as just punishment, but I would expect that the longer they're in, the farther up the food chain they move, probably inflicting their anti-social attitudes on others who will get out, and then be more likely to commit a violent crime in the future (whether or not that's why they were in in the first place). I have no data to back that up, it's just a gut feeling.

The bottom line is this: if you're such a danger that you can't be let back out into society ever again, then I see absolutely no reason to waste time and money caging you to make sure society is safe when we can eliminate the problem quickly and simply.

National Review of Death Penalty Fairness - Somewhat Support

While I think this is just an attempt by death penalty opponents to keep their position alive, it is not unreasonable to make sure that the death penalty is not being abused. For example, if there are more violent crimes committed by one race or another, whatever the reason, then it's reasonable to expect more people of that race to be found on death row. If the proportions are different, however, then that bears some looking into. So as long as the National Review is itself fair and unbiased, then I would support it.