02:59 pm - Writer's Block: Ride the lightning
"Should people who are sentenced to life in prison be allowed the death penalty as an option, and why?"
What a delightfully curious question! I highly doubt many would ever opt for it - history would seem to show there are far more wanting to go the other way - but I see no reason why not. Without getting too much into a right-to-suicide argument, I think it's safe to say that if society (in the form of the taxpayer-supported prison system) has already decided to remove someone from the public permanently, then it shouldn't have any qualms about executing that individual if that person agrees death is preferential to continuing to leech off of society to be kept alive. (I know that court costs typically result in the death penalty being MORE expensive than life in prison, but this circumvents all that.) It's a win-win. (Well, it's an acceptable-acceptable. If it weren't at least perceived to be somewhat preferential or profitable to both parties, the option either wouldn't exist or wouldn't be taken.) I see no reason for this not to be allowed. - ZM