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Pence Criticized Over Call for “Expedited” Death Penalty for Mass Shooters (truthout.org)

submitted 1 year ago by UngodlyAudrey@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

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The death penalty needs to be abolished entirely, not "expedited".

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[–] Shhalahr@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

New York Times examination of mass shootings showed that a quarter of 433 different active shooting events examined (25.4 percent) ended with the assailant taking their own life. An FBI analysis from 2014 placed the figure at a higher rate, with 40 percent of mass shooters dying by suicide.

Does this also take into account "suicide by cop", botched suicide attempts, or getting cold feet over a planned suicide? That is, even if only a quarter end in the killer commiting suicide, there are still plenty others who go into the shooting without plans to survive.

Conservative politicians like Pence have long argued that the death penalty serves as an effective method of deterring crime. But Pence’s comments are not backed by scientific evidence — indeed, in states where the death penalty is used as a form of punishment for capital crimes, murder rates are actually higher than they are in states without the death penalty.

Seems to me you got a bit of a "hanged for a sheep as well as a lamb" situation. Once someone has already committed a capital offense, there's little deterrent to commit more, especially if one believes it can keep them from getting caught (e.g. eliminating witnesses).