Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done with the murderer?  Al Willis

Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done with the murderer?  Al Willis Atheism is a set of beliefs about the nature of the universe, and has nothing to do with morality.  Logic, which many would regard as the basis for atheism, doesn't help at all for morality.  Logic deals with this is, therefore that is, not this happened, therefore that should (morally) happen.   I personally don't know how I feel about capital punishment, however, I see all criminal punishment in terms of its effect on the future (detriment to crime, cost to society), more than as a fair punishment, probably because I am a determinist.  I'd be willing to guess that most atheists aren't determinists, though, so you'll have to ask everyone.

Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done with the murderer?  Al Willis That's like asking if four out of five auto mechanics choose trident sugarless gum for their carbeurators who chew gum. Regards, John Lockwood This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it http://www.best.com/~javaprog

Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done with the murderer?  Al Willis Personally I have no problems with the DP for murder and some other crimes so long as there is no possibility of the person being innocent. ie Bundy, Hamilton (the gunman in Dunblane), Fred and Rose West etc I don't see Life imprisonment as any more humane. However this is NOT an athiest/thiest issue as I am sure there are many Athiests have different opinions on this just as many thiests have as well.

  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (al willis) writes:  Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor  capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done  with the murderer?  Al Willis I don't think capital punishment should be used in any circumstantial evidence case. If there can be no doubt that a person has murdered another person, then maybe it is ok for those who can stomach such a thing.  Atheists have all kinds of beliefs on this. It has nothing to do with being an atheist.  As for logic, that will depend upon one's premises and whether they are true or not. Larry

Atheists do believe in right and wrong.  Do MOST atheists favor capital punishment for murder?  What does logic say should be done with the murderer?  Al Willis My guess is (with no evidence) that many atheists are NOT in favour of capital punishment, perhaps somewhat more in number than those who are. What does logic say about dealing with murderers? That depends on the premises. If the premise is to prevent the individual from ever harming another, then logic says he should either be locked up until it is proved that he is harmless, or simply killed. Either way the end is achieved logically. If there is a premise that every individual has a right to life regardless of his crimes, then capital punishment is illogical. If there is a premise that no innocent person shall be executed ever, then only those whose crime is proved beyond any doubt would be eligible for execution. Some might argue that there is ALWAYS an infinitesimal chance of executing an innocent, which would render capital punishment illogical. So in the end I think logic doesn't really help much here, too much depends on many premises which are more opinion than anything else. My personal opinion is that those who commit ghastly crimes might as well be killed, I'm not going to weep for them. They've forfeited any human rights they may have had, and I don't care to pay for their remaining life. Also, as an atheist, I think that death really is a severe punishment, and like the locally popular god, I'm not above a little vengeance. randall g This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text90159 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it http://www.telemark.net/~randallg When You let me fall, grew my own wings, now I'm as tall as the sky When You let me drown, grew gills and fins, now I'm as deep as the sea When You let me die, my spirit's free, there's nothing challenging me