Vote Green!

There is a campaign in Mexico to reinstate the death penalty to combat their horrific homicide rate. This isn't surprising what is surprising is who is behind it:

But scattered among them are huge black posters calling for the reintroduction of capital punishment.

"Because we care about your life - death penalty for murderers and kidnappers," they demand in bold yellow letters.

The campaign, somewhat incongruously, is paid for by Mexico's Green Party. The organisation's mascot, a large toucan against a green backdrop, appears prominently on each poster.

This isn't a universally supported policy of course:

But according to Juan Francisco Torres Landa, a lawyer who represents Mexico United - a non-governmental organisation campaigning against crime - there is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to criminals.

This is an empirical claim and can be tested. unlike most arguments surrounding the death penalty which are moral or ethical. There is in fact an abundance of evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent.

I'm not actually enthusiastic about reintroducing the death penalty in the UK, because regardless of the utilitarian benefits I would rather not risk being directly responsible for an innocent person's death, but if we were having 10000 ,murders a year like Mexico, I'd feel differently.