pat33,
The Basis of law is Justice, and the definition of that is not
merely restricted to judgement, at least not in the sense you put
it. Justice involves two things: holding people accountable for
their actions and making them "face the music", and also ensuring
that they are treated fairly and given a chance to reform and
become better people. The Death Penalty achieves the first aspect
very well certainly, but fails completely in the 2nd. Therefore,
the Death Penalty is not a just punishment. Since Justice is the
essence of Law, therefore the DP is not lawful either.
True, we need to talk with reason; sadly, whenever the DP is
mentioned, emotion is whipped up about "sadistic suckers".
Retentionists are never calm and cool when talkign about the
DP.
the pikamaster
