The American Spectator

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In his long-ish post on the death penalty, Noah Millman tiptoes up to making what is to my mind the strongest argument against it. One of his commenters does so more succinctly: "When permanent incapacitation is a viable option, a limited government, cognizant of the fallibility of mankind, has no place exacting such an absolute and irreversible sanction as the death penalty." But I disagree with the argument that capital punishment is incompatible with recognizing a right to life. We recognize a right to liberty, which includes a right not to be kidnapped and held against your will, while still putting people who commit certain crimes in jail. The rights to life and liberty require, if they are to exist as more than academic propositions, individuals to respect others' rights equally and society to enforce that requirement.