I am unequivocally for the death penalty.
In my opinion there are individuals so warped and broken that rehabilitation or redemption is out of the question and the threat that they pose to society far outweighs any moral qualms I might have about killing them.
Think: Richard Speck or Charlie Manson.
Both thrive(d*) in prison.
Completely unrepentent, nay, proud of the actions that put them in confinment. No question of their guilt, as they were both proud to acknowledge it to anyone who would listen.
Think: Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy.
Serial predators who studied their prey in order to better fit in and walk among us.
Creatures so far outside of our ken, that faced with undeniable proof of their actions, many still felt unable to believe it. Ted Bundy looked like the boy next door. Gacy was a respected businessman who liked to entertain children dressed as a clown. Behind their masks, both were aliens, constantly searching for the next victim.
Deserving of my pity, my compassion?
Not a chance.
*Speck died in prison, having led a seemingly happy, if manisfestly bizarre, life behind bars. Video was shown on TV, filmed in prison, where Speck taunts the outside world for making his life so easy- sex, drugs and violence all being so easy to obtain/practice behind bars. Watch that video and then tell me that this thing was even human[I].
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