Quote by Albert Camus
But what then is capital punishment but the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal's deed, however calculated it may be, can be compared? For there to be equivalence, 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.
Summary
In this quote, the author argues against capital punishment by highlighting its fundamental flaw: it is a state-sanctioned act of premeditated murder. The author contends that even the most heinous criminal acts cannot be equated to the intentional execution carried out through the death penalty. To draw a parallel, the punishment would need to mirror a scenario where the criminal informed their victim in advance, held them captive for an extended period, and subjected them to the fear of impending, gruesome death. The author suggests that such a level of cruelty is unheard of in private life, reinforcing the inadequacies and moral implications of capital punishment.
By Albert Camus
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