DOJ's Death Penalty Push: Experts Warn State Power Threatens to Become Gestapo-Level Surveillance
The Department of Justice proposed reviving and strengthening the federal death penalty, including firing squads.
Commenters frame the push as pure vengeance rather than justice. Zak notes the system's unreliability and cost, while givesomefucks argues the demand for gruesome methods proves the desire for painful retribution. Witchfire elevates the fear, warning the state's capacity could build secretive camps or hunt dissenters like a Gestapo. On the other side, some express arguments about the supposed necessity of state killing power.
The weight of opinion decisively rejects the proposal. The primary consensus views the death penalty as unethical, with multiple users focusing on the dangerous erosion of state power, warning that the capacity for execution can easily be weaponized against any citizen group, not just the criminally convicted.
Key Points
#1The proposed death penalty is primarily viewed as vengeance.
givesomefucks argues the desire for painful death methods suggests a need for painful retribution, not justice.
#2The state power to execute poses extreme systemic risk.
partial_accumen warns that establishing execution capability can be trivially deployed against any citizen group.
#3Concerns extend beyond criminal justice to political suppression.
Witchfire warned the power could lead to 'Gestapo' scenarios targeting immigrants or political dissent.
#4The death penalty is questioned on pragmatic grounds.
Zak cites the system's unreliability, questionable deterrent effect, and high financial cost.
#5Religious hypocrisy was cited in the debate.
BillyClark pointed out the inconsistency among American Christians supporting death penalty politicians versus their stance on other issues.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.