It is hard to argue with Dave Williams' May 4 letter, "Ultimate deterrent to repeat murder" -- except that, at least in the United States for example, it is an indisputable fact that innocent people are jailed, put on death row and executed.
The Innocence Project in the U.S. has exonerated, by DNA testing, 216 inmates since 1992, including 16 from death row. Given Japan's reputation for forced/false confessions, there are undoubtedly innocent people executed here, too.
If the state puts to death innocent people, it is no better than the pit bull Williams uses in his analogy.
greg blossom
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