welcome
Quillette

Quillette

World

World

The death penalty is not an effective way to reduce societal violence

Quillette
Summary
Nutrition label

65% Informative

Last execution in Great Britain took place in 1964 , but Tory politicians still periodically raise the possibility of reinstating capital punishment.

Lucy Letby , an NHS nurse who was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempted to kill a further six , has somewhat reinvigorated the debate in Britain .

The argument over capital punishment isn’t really about prevention or deterrence, but about retribution.

The rule of law exists to free us from having to rely on subjective evaluations of relative atrocity or wickedness.

Peter Hitchens , for example, admits that, though he would like to see the return of capital punishment, he would hate it to happen right now because the British criminal justice system is “simultaneously weak and cruel”.

There is a key Enlightenment liberal argument against the death penalty that originates with Cesare Beccaria’s 1764 work On Crimes and Punishments .

Almost all countries that currently practise capital punishment are either absolute monarchies, theocracies, or dictatorships.

VR Score

65

Informative language

62

Neutral language

10

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

56

Offensive language

offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

detected

Time-value

long-living

Affiliate links

no affiliate links