Japan hangs Shiva/Christ

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algebe's picture
Japan hangs Shiva/Christ

Japan just hanged Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, and six of his followers for murder.

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Aum-cult-founder-Asahara-6-followe...

These people committed many murders, but is the Japanese government now guilty of committing six more? Or was the death penalty justified?

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Sapporo's picture
The executions don't seem to

The executions don't seem to serve any purpose, especially considering the length of time since 1995 and considering that Japan has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world.

Peurii's picture
I didn't know Japan has the

I didn't know Japan has the death sentence. I don't support the death sentence in normal cases. But people like this or Breivik... I just don't mind them being killed for their deeds if they can be proven without a doubt.

The_Quieter's picture
I often use the gas attack on

I often use the gas attack on the subway to illustrate a point. When you hear the words "enough to kill X number of people!"

I hate news spewing nonsense just scare people. They had enough to kill hundreds or even thousands. The death toll was 12.

"Enough to kill X number of people... under absolutely perfect circumstances that are wildly unlikely"

Terminal Dogma's picture
Off topic but I don't see the

Off topic but I don't see the logic in being Pro abortion but against death penalty.

Inb4 abortion is just like killing a skin cell not even human etc.

Sapporo's picture
There is no evidence that the

There is no evidence that the death penalty decrease violence in a society or rehabilitates offenders.

arakish's picture
And it took them 23 years?

And it took them 23 years? Hell, they should have left them on death row to die of old age.

But... that could have still been another 20 years down the road.

Oh well.

I did not know Japan had Capital Punishment.

In actuality, the only death sentence I am in favor of is when you are fighting to defend your life and end up killing your attacker.

There might be few other instances, but I ain't going to try and think of them.

Well, one I can think of: Dahmer.

rmfr

Mad Mac's picture
Seemingly inconsistent

Seemingly inconsistent positions on the left are rooted in a single core belief. Let me explain. For example, the anti-death penalty and pro-abortion advocates believe that man is not responsible for his actions and therefore should not be held accountable. Nor can he be trusted to be responsible.

Therefore, a liberal concludes that there should be no personal right to bear arms. A man is not responsible enough to have a firearm. Accordingly, he cannot be held accountable for crimes he commits. He's just a victim of circumstances beyond his control. The trigger pulled the finger. His victim should not have resisted. All he wanted was his Rolex. You get the picture.

Sapporo's picture
@Mad Mac

@Mad Mac
Can you offer any evidence that the death penalty decreases violence in a society or even that is a cost-effective policy (e.g. compared to life imprisonment or rehabilitation)?

chimp3's picture
I think the state should be

I think the state should be limited to using deadly force in self defense only. Once someone is confined to a cell or physically restrained in anyway no deadly force is reasonable. Blood atonement is a vestige of the Bronze Age religions we habitually rail against.

algebe's picture
@Chimp3: Blood atonement is a

@Chimp3: Blood atonement is a vestige of the Bronze Age religions we habitually rail against.

Vengeance is a common theme in Japanese drama and fiction. In many Samurai TV series, the story ends with the hero putting a sword in the hand of the victim's child so that he can finish off the vanquished villain. In real life, you often hear victim's families saying the victim's spirit will not be able to rise up until the perpetrator is punished. So there are strong religious and cultural strands in the hangman's rope in Japan.

Maybe murderers deserve to die. But when you look at Japan's amazingly high conviction rate for capital crimes, you have to wonder. Most convictions are based on confessions. In the 50s, 60s, and 70s a lot of those confessions were obtained under various forms of duress. Several people have been exonerated after 30 or 40 years on death row, never knowing which day would be their last.

The death penalty is too final for a fallible justice system. The mistakes can never be put right.

chimp3's picture
The real test is whether a

The real test is whether a modern society is more humane than the societies of long ago. I would rather live in a society of imprisoned, festering wrongdoers than a society that marches a manackled , sedated, mumbling human to the gallows. I empathize with the paiin of the sufferers, but there are alternative ways to cope and gain closure.

Sheldon's picture
Morally it seems incongruous

Morally it seems incongruous to murder someone...for the crime of murder. If they'd murdered someone I love I guess I'd want them killed as well, but that is why we enact laws and form judiciary to make such decisions objectively. I am torn about the death penalty which I disagree with in principle, but in some cases it is hard to raise valid objections. Saddam Hussein? Stalin? Hitler? I guess it's a good sign to be not completely decided about morally complex dichotomies.

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