“There is a legitimate argument over whether the death penalty effectively deters violent crime, although my personal observation is that not one of the criminals who have been executed over the years has ever killed again.”

— Dinesh D'Souza

Source: Letters to a Young Conservative

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Dinesh D'Souza 61

Indian-American political commentator, filmmaker, author 1961

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press After a cabinet meeting in Tehran http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/iranian-president-mohammad-khatami-speaks-to-the-press-news-photo/2816904 (18 December 2003)
Attributed

“I don’t find it a coincidence that, over the last two years, we’ve seen this type of rise in violent crimes in the United States. When the Obama administration decided it was going to defend criminals over law enforcement, this is where it ends up. See, the Obama administration decided it was better to release criminals, since they view them as victims, and punish law enforcement.”

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“I don't think I would want the responsibility for enforcing the death penalties. There's always the inevitable question of whether someone you gave the order to execute might truly have been innocent.”

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Context: How come life in prison doesn't mean life? Until it does, we're not ready to do away with the death penalty. Stop thinking in terms of "punishment" for a minute and think in terms of safeguarding innocent people from incorrigible murderers. Americans have a right to go about their lives without worrying about these people being back out on the street. So until we can make sure they're off the street permanently, we have to grit our teeth and put up with the death penalty. So we need to work toward making a life sentence meaningful again. If life meant life, I could, if you'll excuse the pun, live without the death penalty.
We don't have it here in Minnesota, thank God, and I won't advocate to get it. But I will advocate to make life in prison mean life. I don't think I would want the responsibility for enforcing the death penalties. There's always the inevitable question of whether someone you gave the order to execute might truly have been innocent.

“To me, capital punishment is a form of societal self-defense. It should not be employed indiscriminately, but in cases of the most heinous crimes, the death penalty may be the only appropriate punishment. Some people believe it is right to take a life to save the life of someone else, but they would not vote to take the life of a convicted criminal, no matter how horrible the crime. Others believe that killing another person for any reason is simply wrong. I respect those opinions, but I disagree with them. I'm convinced that government has a duty to promote community defense. The death penalty, when applied in appropriate cases, can be a strong deterrent to crime. It is certainly a deterrent to the convicted criminal sentenced to death, and it is also a deterrent to other potential capital offenders.”

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“I've been amused by the debate in America over whether torture is effective… Of course it's effective.”

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Source: Freedom™ (2010), Chapter 22: Identity Theft, Character: The Major

“There is a legitimate argument over whether the death penalty effectively deters violent crime, although my personal observation is that not one of the criminals who have been executed over the years has ever killed again.”

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