CAPITAL PUNISHMENT


Capital punishment involves the deliberate killing of a supposed or actual offender for an offense. Throughout history and across different societies, criminals have been executed for a variety of offenses, but much of the literature is devoted to examining whether those convicted of murder ought to be executed, and this discussion will be similarly focused.
A combination of utilitarian and retributive considerations are usually invoked in an effort to justify the execution of murderers. The centerpiece of most arguments in favor of capital punishment is retributive: Murderers deserve to be put to death. This is usually argued for along Kantian lines: By deliberately causing an innocent person’s death, the murderer has rendered himself deserving of death. Utilitarian considerations generally play a large role as well. Proponents argue that the threat of capital punishment can deter potential murderers. Since many human beings’ greatest fear is death, the intuitive plausibility of this claim is clear. In addition, proponents point to the fact that capital punishment is the ultimate incapacitation. Clearly, if a murderer is dead, then he can never harm anyone again.
Opponents of capital punishment challenge proponents on each of these points. Albert Camus denies that murder and capital punishment are equivalent to one another:
But what is capital punishment if not the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal act, no matter how calculated, can be compared? If there were to be a real equivalence, the death penalty would have to be pronounced upon a criminal who had forewarned his victim of the very moment he would put him to a horrible death, and who, from that time on, had kept him confined at his own discretion for a period of months. It is not in private life that one meets such monsters (25).
This argument and others that resemble it are often put forth in an attempt to counter the retributive argument. Also, any criminal justice system that executes convicted criminals runs the risk of executing some individuals who do not deserve to be executed: the wrongfully convicted. Some argue that a fallible criminal justice system ought not to impose a penalty that removes the possibility of mistakes being rectified. The utilitarian arguments have also come under attack. Some argue that the proponents of capital punishment have overstated its deterrent value, and it has been argued that it may even incite some people to commit murder (Bedau, 198-200). Regarding incapacitation, it has been argued that the danger involved in failing to execute murderers has been similarly overstated (196-198).

MYAs TILL 7TH MAY. TILL THEN,PEOPLE!
see you soon.

You Are 86% Grown Up, 14% Kid

Your emotional maturity is fully developed, and you have an excellent grasp on your emotions. In fact, you are so emotionally mature - you should consider being a therapist!

How Emotionally Mature Are You?

HELLO!

HAHAH NURUL'S SCARED OF SPIDERS. so am i but that's not the point. haha! figured out when there was this creepy crawly that decided to spin a web right in front of kind old norul's face(: she just dodged towards me, pushed everything towards my table and SQUEEKED.

nurul: ahh! spider!
me: no it's not it's a goddamn fly!
nurul: nooo! it's a spider! squeek!
me: but it's flying! spiders can't fly!
nurul: can't you see the web? squeek! (pushes everything onto my table)
spider slides down from the web onto poor norul's table(:
nurul, me: AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sheryl: so childish.
me: where is it where is it?
nurul: under my book! squeek! oh no it's just a piece of paper. in your pencil case! squeek!
mrs chan: SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH.

5 minutes later:

nurul: squeek!
me: what's your freaking problem?
nurul: OH IT WAS YOUR PINAFORE that touched my leg! thought it was the spider.

poor nurul probably got a heart attack.
oh and melissa MY BIRTHDAY IS ON THE FIRST DAY OF HOLIDAYS. it's bright red so if you didn't see it again you're colour blind.

okay have to sleep now. BYE!

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. -William Ellery Channing

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.

Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker. -Zig Ziglar

dang. gonna prove it to you someday man. you just wait and see.

YAY a bit more and i'll be done with lit PT!! and i'll feel so accomplishedC:

had a bizarre convo with melissa yesterday.okay here goes:

(8:24 PM) ♥laughter heals: NICHOLOS
(8:24 PM) MELISSA: spelling mistake dear
(8:25 PM) ♥laughter heals: nicolos
(8:25 PM) MELISSA: OMG YOU CANT SPELL ISIT
(8:25 PM) ♥laughter heals: cant
(8:25 PM) ♥laughter heals: i have dyslexia
(8:25 PM) MELISSA: yaya
(8:25 PM) ♥laughter heals: stupid name
(8:25 PM) ♥laughter heals: nick
(8:25 PM) MELISSA: FOR YOUR INFORMATION, MY DEAREST RETARD
(8:26 PM) ♥laughter heals: nicolhos
(8:26 PM) MELISSA: its spelled as nicholas
(8:26 PM) ♥laughter heals: oops
(8:26 PM) ♥laughter heals: I WAS SO CLOSE OKAY
(8:26 PM) MELISSA: YOU SUCK
(8:26 PM) ♥laughter heals: stupid name
(8:26 PM) ♥laughter heals: YUJIA nicer
(8:26 PM) MELISSA: not necessarily...
(8:27 PM) ♥laughter heals: i cant speell for nuts!
(8:27 PM) ♥laughter heals: peanuts actually
(8:27 PM) MELISSA: lol finally you realised
(8:28 PM) ♥laughter heals: dont make fun of my
(8:28 PM) ♥laughter heals: i have dyslexia
(8:28 PM) ♥laughter heals: I cnat speeil
(8:29 PM) MELISSA: charlie gordon wannabe
(8:29 PM) MELISSA: xD
(8:29 PM) MELISSA: erm i think i'm insulting charlie gordon
(8:29 PM) MELISSA: oops
(8:29 PM) ♥laughter heals: oh daer i fiill srooyy fyr he
(8:30 PM) MELISSA: did you forget to take your medicine or something?
(8:31 PM) ♥laughter heals: nebre meend i weel tke eat new
(8:32 PM) ♥laughter heals: thanks you
(8:32 PM) ♥laughter heals: C:
(8:33 PM) MELISSA: gosh
(8:33 PM) MELISSA: retarded face you have
(8:33 PM) ♥laughter heals: i am hurr
(8:34 PM) ♥laughter heals: i hve to snore snore
(8:35 PM) MELISSA: WHAT?!?!
(8:35 PM) MELISSA: i think your medicine has no effect
(8:35 PM) ♥laughter heals: it wnt in thrgh my nose
(8:36 PM) MELISSA: gosh and came out through your ears?
(8:36 PM) ♥laughter heals: thanks you fr bing so keend
(8:37 PM) ♥laughter heals: yees it ded
(8:38 PM) MELISSA: oh my
(8:38 PM) MELISSA: are you still alive?
(8:38 PM) ♥laughter heals: wnt to see mai speel my skuul nume?
(8:39 PM) MELISSA: sure i hope you dont spell it wrong
(8:40 PM) ♥laughter heals: banana's school for the mentally weak
(8:41 PM) MELISSA: wow
(8:41 PM) MELISSA: no spelling mistakes!
(8:41 PM) MELISSA: congratulations!
(8:41 PM) ♥laughter heals: so ze shot ist BMW

i know it's retarded. AMANDA KHOO AND NURUL I BET YALL ARE JEALOUS OF MY RETARDEDNESS!
yay.

okay picture time! 1 retarded pic of amanda khoo and some whale rider pics=)


haven't seen anyone so retarded.


Okee, I tell you eh-we-ting: he look-a like a man! HAHAHAHAHAHA


christine!


cool eh?


dwarf


one big fa-mee-lee!


okay have to sleep now. bye!

Take a look around don't you see it?
See that you are the only real face in the room
No one here has a clue what you're feeling
Don't feel bad keep your sadness alive

Look at all these happy people
Living their lives
Look at all these plastic people
Theres nothing inside
Look at all these shallow people
Telling their lies
Look at all these empty people, people

[Chorus:]
Don't you know, misery was haunting me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me
Happiness, a place you don't if you know me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me
Woah, misery's my company
Woah, misery is looking for me
Looking for me

The hands are up
Everybody's singing, everybody's moving
they're putting their feelings
They're synchronizing, and criticizing
Don't feel bad keep your sadness alive

Look a all these happy people
Living their lives
Look at all these plastic people
They're dying inside
Look at all these shallow people
Telling their lies
Look at all these empty people,people

[Chorus::]
Don't you know, misery was haunting me
Yeah I heard, was looking for me
Happiness a place you don't if you know me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me
Woah, misery's my company
Woah, misery is looking for me

Don't you know this misery loves me
This misery loves me
Don't you know this misery loves me
Don't you know this misery loves me

So you're tired of running
You're tired of hurting
You're tired of living in their light
You're tired of loosing
You're tired of hurting
Keep your sadness alive, alive

Don't know, misery with company
Yeah I heard, was looking for me
Happiness, a place you don't if you know me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me
Don't you know, misery was still with me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me
Happiness, a place you don't if you know me
Yeah I heard, misery was looking for me

Woah, misery my company
Woah, misery is looking for me

i ran like a cookie yesterday! ouch my thighs

are really painful.haha i'm so tan now la thanks to the sun yesterday! and we had to run ANOTHER TWO MORE ROUNDS AROUND THE TRACK TODAY FOR PE! my knee was hurting! maybe i have osteoporosis.uh-oh.
tmr's HSSRP so i'm leaving school at 1230!so is zerline and sheryl.yay.
melissa wong's acting very weird in school now.feel so out=).

why do you have to be so nice to me? you make me feel all so guilty. CAN'T YOU JUST SCREAM AT ME OR SOMETHING? say that you hate me? why so polite?
why?
WHY?

now go away. i don't need you around. i just have to scrub you clean from my memory.

maybe you should learn to respect me someday too.