4/21/11

An Extreme Primitive Legal System?

The high primal is an avid reader of mystery books. Occasionally she will come across one that she thinks I would like and with effusive recommendations, makes it available to me. Such was the case with “ The Man From Beijing” by Henning Mankell ( of Wallender fame). The book lived up to its billing. It was difficult to put the book down in order to get some sleep. His treatment of the Chinese who built our rail system and the China of today held me entranced. When all was said and done , what really got my attention was what was said by the main character, a judge in the Swedish judicial system. During a visit to China she was quoted as saying, "Only an extreme primitive legal system can ever resort to capital punishment, which seldom if ever has a preventative effect."

I enjoyed the novel and its mystery but was left wondering how an advanced society such as ours tolerates capital punishment. Perhaps we are not as advanced as we think we are.

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