Wow. Bon Jovi would be proud. I can’t think of a more immediate death, than being shot in the heart at point blank range with a handgun. You don’t have to worry about the smell of searing flesh of a criminal from an electric chair; don’t have to worry about seeing a criminal dying from asphyxiation as he or she is dangling from a noose (if the neck didn’t snap right away like it should have); and don’t have to worry about whether or not a criminal felt any pain before going to sleep forever (or watching them writhe in agony for 40 minutes like that last scumbag that was successfully executed).
Taiwan… you are awesome! And here’s why. This is not really a new Draconian Rant, but a continuation of yesterday’s, and it is news about Taiwan/Northeast Asia.
In Taiwan, you have two options if you’re a bad person who has committed heinous atrocities… executed by being shot through the heart or shot through the brain stem. The brain stem is only afforded to criminals if they agree to be an organ donor. On top of this, around 80% of Taiwan’s population supports the capital punishment (and as my newest friend @SharpestJim reaffirmed, it’s not called “capital deterrence”), even when the possibility of executing an innocent exists. A separate article quotes the exoneration rate of criminals on death row to be 4.1% in the United States (if they remained in prison indefinitely)…which also means 95.9% of these scumbags committed the heinous act and should be put down. That’s a solid “A” no matter where you go to school. Now, if the ratio was closer to ~20-40% are not guilty, then I would have a different opinion. But a less than 5% error rate? That’s outstanding.
The main point of the article though, wasn’t the Taiwanese support for the death penalty, but the rift in-between the support shown for the Death Penalty (trust in the government’s granted ability to kill civilians) as opposed to their lack of support for a new Nuclear Reactor (trust in the government’s granted ability to provide for/protect civilians). While I disagree with the comparison—building Nuclear plants, especially after the events of 311 (Earthquake/Tsunami/Fukushima meltdown), causes people to be afraid of unknown consequences down the road. Whereas the “unknown consequences” of not executing a killer is that they may escape and kill again. “Build a new plant” or “Execute a worthless scumbag”, I find are two completely separate issues.
Now looking back on the United States… According to a recent Gallup poll, our Death Penalty support has gone from as low as 40% to as high as 80%… and only once in ~1966 does it appear that the opposition was slightly higher than the supporting groups. Whether it be morality, or if a scumbag feels pain as they are being executed, or the financial cost of an execution…. or possibly a mixture of all three. But for whatever reason, it consistently fluctuates.
Why do you think the United States wavers so much on the death penalty? Should we be more like France who completely opposes the death penalty? Or more like China who immediately executes all the scumbags they find?
Taiwan’s Death Penalty here: “Support of death penalty reveals Taiwan’s paradox” (article)
US’ Death Penalty here: “America’s growing opposition to the death penalty” (blog)
Picture from here