[Catwoman]

Lady Sidhe: The only real answer I can give to that is the fact that the penalties for crimes are well-known. We have established punishments, agreed upon them, and codified them as law. The individual, as part of the society, accepts those laws, and when s/he violates one or more of those laws, s/he knows the penalty.

Agreed.

What we are talking about here is establishing a set of rules - a consensus - for society to abide by. In a democracy, this is ruled by the majority. But what if a majority is wrong?

Quote: Happy Monkey
So laws are self-justified by their existence? That logic is a bit circular.

Ideally, potential punishment should = deterrent. A more likely equation is:

Payoff - (Punishment + level of psychosis + desire for instant gratification) = oh fuck it I'll do the crime anyway.

Research shows that the penalty is not given rational consideration in crimes such as these. So how do we deter? Punishment, reparation, retaliation - these are futile. They do not compensate, they do not resolve. I suggest, and this is the basis of my argument, that not enough is known about the phenomena of murder. Until we understand its root causes, we cannot respond to it. Let us take the time at whatever economical cost to get this one right, and then abolish it forever. Idealist? Yes. Impossible? It was once deemed impossible that the world could be round, that there wasn't a god, and that the earth revolved around the sun.