"There remains a conviction that only a penalty as...

"There remains a conviction that only a penalty as absolute as death is just for serious crime. A closer look at how the death penalty is administered ought to raise some doubts, however. American lawyers in Montreal explained that the unenviable job of defending death penalty cases typically falls to those unequal to the task. Graduates fresh out of law school or lawyers who have been disbarred are frequently engaged for a role that they are professionally and emotionally ill-equipped to deal with.
Arguments that the death penalty prevents crime do not merit much scrutiny. Studies have consistently failed to discover any meaningful correlation between its application and crime rates. In assessing capital punishment as an effective deterrent, we might simply ask ourselves: how rationally do serious criminals behave?
Arguably, the most compelling argument against capital punishment is the human capacity for error. One South African lawyer told delegates in Montreal of his profession's fallibility. If the death penalty is wrongly applied, what scope is there to correct the mistake?"