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.
Interpretation
The quote questions the effectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent to crime, suggesting it serves only as a tool for revenge.
In this quote, Albert Pierrepoint reflects on his experience as an executioner, stating that he does not believe that the executions he carried out have contributed to preventing future murders. Instead, he argues that capital punishment merely satisfies the desire for revenge rather than promoting justice or deterring crime.
In practice
In a debate about the morality of capital punishment, this quote can highlight the argument against its effectiveness.
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.
To maintain their power, dominant groups create and maintain a popular system of 'commonsense' ideas that support their right to rule. In the United States, hegemonic ideologies concerning race, class, gender, sexuality, and nation are often so pervasive that it is difficult to conceptualize alternatives to them, let alone ways of resisting the social practices that they justify.
The good fortune of America is closely tied to the good fortune of all humanity.
We must never lose sight of the fact that the law has a moral foundation, and we must never fail to ask ourselves not only what the law is, but what the law should be.
I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.
Pay no heed to those who tell you that they have relinquished place and power of their own accord, and from their love of quiet. For almost always they have been brought to this retirement by their insufficiency and against their will.
Stillness is the altar of spirit.
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