Is the death penalty ever justified? Does it work as a deterrent? There’s a difference between arguing against the death penalty and saying the killer should not be imprisoned.

Chamieka House-Osuya asks, “So Ted Bundy, Samuel Little or John Wayne Gacy didn’t deserve the death penalty? Just asking.”

You can read more about the case of Christa Pike here. Her execution is set for 30 September 2026.

Ted Bundy had escaped twice. Could he have contributed to the study of sociopathy and serial murder? We know he did: just read “Riverman” or “Terrible Secrets” by Robert Keppel. We have learned things about serial killers that helped us catch and cage more of them. But he absolutely could and should never be allowed to be free.

Patrick and Eddie Sonnier killed two people. Patrick was one of the inmates profiled in the book and movie Dead Man Walking. Author Sister Helen Prejean, a Catholic nun who served as his spiritual adviser and walked with him to Louisiana’s electric chair in 1984, never wanted him released. She testified at his clemency hearing that “he was a good worker,” contributing to society by being kept in prison for the rest of his life. Eddie was given life without parole, died in 2013, and is buried in the Angola State Prison cemetery.

Patrick Sonnier could have been like what the Menendez brothers have become: they have done objectively good work whilst in prison, mentoring other inmates who have suffered sexual abuse, just like they did. Their work may help other inmates who get released adjust better to living in society. But that doesn’t negate the instances of infractions the Menendezes have committed while locked up.

It comes down to whether rehabilitation and safe, sane reintegration into society is possible.

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