In a 2020 New York Times article, you observed that arguments against the death penalty “tend to be abstract” (focused on what it means to take a human life, or the limits of governmental power), but “arguments for the death penalty are visceral,” often going into detail about the crimes’ brutality. Elizabeth Bruenig: I think when you’re trying to convince a reader to oppose the death penalty, which is a complicated and difficult argument to make, it’s important to put people in the room to try to give them a sense of what a personal experience it is. But by taking it to a personal level, where I’m asking someone to consider the death penalty as a problem because it destroys the life of a human being, of a person with a personality and experiences and family and friends, that felt significant.
Author: Stephanie Bai
Published at: 2025-06-11 22:15:00
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