I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over the responsibility for revenge to other people...The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off.
Interpretation
Executions are outdated and fail to address the real issues of justice and revenge.
In this quote, Albert Pierrepoint expresses his belief that capital punishment is not a solution to crime or societal issues, but rather an outdated response rooted in a desire for vengeance. He argues that this practice shifts the burden of revenge onto others, and highlights the inherent contradictions and inequalities in deciding who deserves such a penalty, revealing the flaws in our justice system.
In practice
During a debate on the morality of capital punishment, this quote can effectively highlight the need for reform in the justice system.
It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree....I do not now believe that any one of the hundreds of executions I carried out has in any way acted as a deterrent against future murder. Capital punishment, in my view, achieved nothing except revenge.
The best of America drifts to Paris. The American in Paris is the best American. It is more fun for an intelligent person to live in an intelligent country. France has the only two things toward which we drift as we grow older—intelligence and good manners.
When there came a sound that I'd never heard the like of in all my born days. Eh, I won't forget that. The whole air was full of it, loud as thunder but far longer, cool and sweet as music over water but strong enough to shake the woods. And I said to myself, 'If that's not the Horn, call me a rabbit.
Once you start describing nothingness, you end up with somethingness.
In May 1961, South Africa was to be declared a Nationalist Republic. There was a white referendum, but no African was consulted.
Ours is not a problem of the intellect but of spiritual poverty. That is why we need a Savior.
Through violence, you may murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate.
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