In ‘What I Believe,’ an essay whose content–selectively quoted–was instrumental in him having his appointment at the City College of New York revoked¹, Bertrand Russell wrote: One other respect in which our society suffers from the theological conception of ‘sin’ is the treatment of criminals. The view that criminals are ‘wicked’ and ‘deserve’ punishment isContinue reading “Bertrand Russell On Deterrence By Making ‘Freedom More Pleasant’”
Tag Archives: justice
Waiting for Jury Duty: Crowd Observation Notes
A curious fact about the crowd enduring the interminably long wait to be called for jury duty selection at Brooklyn’s State Supreme Court building today was how its interactions slowly began to resemble those of passengers on an airliner stranded on an airport tarmac. Before lunch, some folks had already dozed off (I had takenContinue reading “Waiting for Jury Duty: Crowd Observation Notes”
Anders Behring Breivik: An Argument Against The Death Penalty
Anders Behring Breivik has complicated matters for us. Most killers like him are not brought to justice; they kill themselves or are killed in the fracas following their murders. They do not create the opportunities that Breivik has created for us to think about appropriate punishments for those accused of heinous crimes. Breivik is nowContinue reading “Anders Behring Breivik: An Argument Against The Death Penalty”
Samir Chopra 