One of the more surprising allies to stick by the U.S. through thick and thin since September 11 and to take its own increasingly tough stance on terrorism is Japan under Prime Minister Koziumi. We see another sign of that toughness as Japan’s Supreme Court rejects the last appeal of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, who masterminded the nerve gas attack on Japan’s subways in 1995, and Japan prepares to hang him.
5 thoughts on “Japan is Serious”
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They should be serious. As we were with McVeigh. While I identify myself as a sort of right of center liberal, I see nothing wrong with the death penalty. Arguing that many nations don’t do it, so we shouldn’t is not a discussion, nor a debate, simply an arrogant statement.
Executions don’t seem to be much of a deterrent to a death cult like Al Qaida and their allied fanatics though, since they are sadly seeing to it we won’t have to worry about considering it.
The deterrent aspect is not really important, as it is the justice aspect that matters. Life for a life is the only proper punishment for a murder. By playing God, you lose the right to live.
The best argument for the death penalty is incapacitation – it takes the defendant permanently out of the fight in all ways. For a guy who sticks up a liquor store, that’s not a great argument; life in the can will do. But as a weapon against terrorist organizations, I find it compelling.
Who’s to say being sentenced to death is a harsher punishment than life in prison? Death allows our most heinous criminals to play martyr while life imprisonment forces them to rot in a prison cell for decades.
I think equating the death penalty with “serious” is pretty short-sighted and laughable, myself.
I keep hearing death penalty opponents say life in prison is tougher, but if that’s the case, how come nearly every single death row inmate files endless appeals to try to overturn the death sentence? Apparently, death row inmates overwhelmingly disagree with you about which is worse.