A couple of months ago the question about the need for harder actions against criminals brought up this subject of the death penalty into our minds.
The thing is that criminals in Argentina are different from the ones in other parts of the world. Here there are a lot of murders committed by poor and intoxicated people, alienated from the society in such a way, that they feel they do not have another alternative from stealing to make a living. This type of criminal is different from a serial killer.
Any punishment must be fair, just, adequate and most of all, enforceable. Society still views murder as a particularly heinous crime which should be met with the most severe punishment. Whole life imprisonment could fit the bill for the worst murders with suitable gradations for less awful murders
I think that there is still much more we can do to reduce violence in our society instead of this last resource. For example, the government could reduce poverty by giving more work opportunities, or by helping to reduce drug addictions and enforcing education to reach all members of our society. Marginal crime would then be reduced in an important number.
Also we have the issue of overcrowded prisons today. If prisoners are reduce in number and facilities improve quality, the prison could actually become a place to reform criminals.
We cannot have the concept of “Eye for an eye” as the way to response by a mature society who claims to be fighting for human rights in the year 2009.