No need to trust you on this.

Some death penalty opponents argue against death penalty deterrence, stating that it’s a harsher penalty to be locked up without any possibility of getting out.

Reality paints a very different picture.

What percentage of capital murderers seek a plea bargain to a death sentence? Zero or close to it. They prefer long term imprisonment.

What percentage of convicted capital murderers argue for execution in the penalty phase of their capital trial? Zero or close to it. They prefer long term imprisonment.

What percentage of death row inmates waive their appeals and speed up the execution process? Nearly zero. They prefer long term imprisonment.

This is not, even remotely, in dispute.

What of that more rational group, the potential murderers who choose not to murder, is it likely that they, like most of us, fear death more than life?

Life is preferred over death. Death is feared more than life.

Just because biblical text supports the death penalty, doesn’t mean that it is necessary for the support of capital punsihment.

The essay “Neither Hatred nor Revenge” was never intneded to justify capital punishment, but to correct the error that the death penalty was either hatred or revenge. I thought that was very clear.

However I do not agree with it for kidnapper or rapists, because it would make them more likely to murder the victim. Let them rot in jail for a long time, where hopefully they will get a dose of their own medicine.