I have never minded being in a minority, but I do not accept that minority views are inherently dubious, and I reject the idea that they should not be acted upon because they are minority views, in the same way that I reject the notion that, because the majority supports a particular policy, that policy is necessarily right.

moreover, you seem to be getting confused between the penal system, an artificial construct intended to inflict retrospective punishment as an approximation to justice, and justice itself.
I confess to being confued by that comment. First of all, "system of justice" and terms like it are frequently used to mean "penal system", and that has happened often in this thread. Next, we are discussing whether a legal system should impose the death penalty for certain crimes: should the death penalty be available under English Law (see OP)? I have expressed my opinion that it should not. Others have expressed a different view, but both arguments are relevant to the original question. To use your words, we have stated what we believe is an appropriate retrospective punishment to inflict upon killers; and we have expressed those views based upon our individual philosophies about justice.

So, I'm afraid I have missed your point.


Regarding the booby-trapped car, the fact that there are other ways to prevent it being stolen makes the deliberate choice to install a booby-trap an act of pre-meditated murder, if the thief is killed thereby - and, for all I know, one of attempted murder if he survives. It can never be legitimate to attempt to prevent a crime by the unlawful killing of the perpetrator. That's what.

What is more, in this example, the destruction of the car while the thief is being killed demonstrates that the motive is to kill rather than to stop theft.

I do not think it is appropriate to compare acts of war (which are not crimes) with criminal acts. Meanwhile, I think you will find that most national armies are under rules of conduct that prohibit them from using lethal force where there is a chance that innocent non-combatants will be harmed, unless they are themselves under immediate threat. Speculative jamming in order to detonate bombs and kill their manufacturers breaches that rule in that the effects on others cannot be assessed and the immediate threat to the troops is not present.

(Detonating a bomb while the bomber is planting the device might be justifiable if there is no danger to others, but, serendipity aside, if you know when and where a bomber is going to be, you can intercept him before he plants it, at which time it might be unnecessary to kill him.)