Ian Hislop on Capital Punishment
Why Hacker News recommends it
Cited in threads on wrongful convictions and executions as a pithy rebuttal of the deterrence argument.
What it is
A BBC Question Time clip in which Ian Hislop argues against capital punishment, rebutting the deterrence argument. He points out the problem of executing innocent people.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2017 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Recommends arethuza · 2019-07 · on “'Five Eyes' nations discuss backdoor access to WhatsApp”
I recommend watching this clip from Question Time on the subject of capital punishment: [this video] I'm still shocked that we have someone as Home Secretary who thought capital punishment was a good idea.
Cites linuxkerneldev · 2017-03 · on “'My life was ruined by a typo'”
This is a very good point. There seems to be no coverage of whether the actual perpetrator was ever caught. We employ and compensate the police, admins and fund the judicial system, at least partly in order to serve as a deterrent to criminals. If our system has a high percentage of false positives or punishes innocent people then that reduces the efficacy of the system as a deterrent. I'm reminded of this exchange between a journalist and a British justice minister where the minister seems incapable of understanding that punishing people who turned out to be innocent isn't an effective system. [this video]
Cites amiga386 · 2024-09 · on “Who is Marcellus Williams: Execution in Missouri despite evidence of innocence”
It doesn't matter how heinous the murder was if you have the wrong suspect. [this video] > Priti Patel: this is about having deterrents... > Ian Hislop: It's not a deterrent killing the wrong people!
Critical alfredlind · 2021-03 · on “Google HR 'suggested medical leave' for racism victims”
> We have the most racially diverse Cabinet ever, elected by a massive majority. Priti and Rishi enjoy huge popularity. insular = ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one's own experience. I have examined Priti Patel's statements and behavior. Her moral and cultural compass would be what I would exactly define as insular. For example, going on TV justifying applying the death penalty to innocent people which predominantly affects minority populations. I would strongly suggest watching this short clip of her talking about this in such a ridiculous way. She keeps repeating the phrase "does what it says on the tin" and "ultimate burden of proof" to justify killing