It is, or at least pre-Wokeism it was, a commonplace that the punishment should fit the crime. It is a related commonplace — in every discussion except the one about the death penalty — that the punishment should reflect the facts of the offense. But abolitionists tell us, not only that there is no set of facts about offense behavior that would warrant our keeping capital punishment, but that in addressing that question, no set of facts can even be considered.
Excuse me, but that’s crazy.
The movement to end the death penalty is distinctive not only in its determined obliviousness to the facts of the crime, but in its ahistorical and elitist character.
[I’m not in favor of the death penalty, and have less certitude about the outcomes of capital cases as I get older. DNA evidence has overturned enough faulty convictions in the last twenty years to validate the option of keeping people alive, just in case. I think the system’s design is as good as it can be, even if performance falls short, which I think is the *real* issue. But I know a lot of good people who disagree with me, and William’s argument here is quite compelling. I’m glad to feature it as part of the ongoing debate. — Ed]
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