Hugo Adam Bedau
Austin Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University
Excerpts from “The Case Against The Death Penalty”
(Copyright 1997, American Civil Liberties Union)
“Persons who commit murder and other crimes of personal violence either may or may not premeditate their crimes.
“Execution of those who have committed heinous murders may deter only one murder per year. If it does, it seems quite warranted. It is also the only fitting retribution for murder I can think of.”
...
Society has always used punishment to discourage would-be criminals from unlawful action. Since society has the highest interest in preventing murder, it should use the strongest punishment available to deter murder, and that is the death penalty. If murderers are sentenced to death and executed, potential murderers will think twice before killing for fear of losing their own life.