Quote by Albert Camus

Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal's deed, however calculated can be compared. For there to be an equivalency, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private life.


Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders, to w

Summary

This quote by French philosopher Albert Camus expresses his stance against capital punishment. Camus argues that the deliberate act of executing someone is the most premeditated form of murder, surpassing even the calculated crimes committed by criminals. To rationalize capital punishment, one would have to imagine a criminal who not only plans a heinous death for their victim but also informs them about the exact date of their impending demise. This scenario is highly unlikely, if not entirely impossible, to occur in real life. Camus challenges the notion of the death penalty, highlighting its unfathomable cruelty and the absence of moral equivalency.

By Albert Camus
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