You know why I think we still execute people? Because, even if we don't want to say it out loud-for the really heinous crimes, we want to know that there's a really heinous punishment. Simple as that. We want to bring society closer together-huddle and circle our wagons-and that means getting rid of people we think are incapable of learning a moral lesson. I guess the question is: Who gets to identify those people? And what if, God forbid, they got it wrong?
This passage discusses the rationale behind the continued practice of capital punishment in society. The underlying belief is that, for particularly severe crimes, there exists a desire to impose an equally severe punishment. This idea stems from a collective need to unify society against those deemed irredeemable, reinforcing a moral boundary that separates the "good" from the "evil" in a community's perspective.
However, the quote raises critical questions about the identification of individuals who are considered incapable of moral rehabilitation. It prompts a reflection on the potential flaws in our judgment, emphasizing the risk involved in deciding who is beyond redemption and the moral implications if such determinations are made incorrectly.
