A debate on the death penalty

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Debate

Host: Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to see what these men before you think of the death sentence. Is it just? Is it unjust? Who should be the one that decides whether someone deserves it or not?  Let us see what these men have to say about it.

Host: So, what do you gentlemen think about the effectiveness of the death penalty on the crime rates in America?

Mr. Alex: The death penalty inspires fear of doing a crime in a potential criminal’s heart. Because of this fear, it is most likely that the criminal will not even commit a crime.

Dr. Osborne:  Mr. Alex, there is no proof that this is true. I have not yet seen any tangible proof that the death penalty lowers crime rates.

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Mr. Alex: This is not a topic which can easily yield tangible evidence.

Dr. Osborne: I beg to differ. If we saw, for example, without doing anything else, a drop in crime rates, this would mean the death sentence is working.

Mr. Alex: But this could also mean other things. Maybe the drop just happens. For example, a person would steal water if he/she was in a drought. If I then instate the death penalty, and it happens to rain the next month, then obviously the crime rates involving theft of water would drop, and it would not be ...

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