I too am in favour of his punishment.
As long as guilt is irrefutable, I think capital punishment is fitting for serious crimes like this.
The involvement of the relatives (provided it is optional) in deciding punishment is also something I support fully - I believe it was trialled in Britain in certain areas and was by all accounts a success (minus the whipping of course
) with punishments being surprisingly rational and meeting the perpertrator often giving a sense of closure to grieving relatives. If memory serves, reoffending rates were lower also - the criminal explaining his actions to the family and seeing their suffering first-hand appeared to have a positive effect in some cases.
As for the 'spectacle factor' of doing it in public, well if I was running a dictatorship I think it would be an avenue I would explore as it no doubt fulfills a couple of useful social functions: sets an example to other would-be criminals, provides a non-destructive outlet for public anger and frustration and implicitly associates the idea of state justice with what the public considers the 'right thing' making dissent less likely in other areas.
[ 03-28-2005, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]