I'm somewhat conflicted over the death penalty issue but think I might have a novel solution. Suppose that our capital punishment did not have the criminal physically killed, but rather declared legally dead. In other words, for their crimes they forfeit their rights. Then they would be used a subjects for the advancement of science.

Now before anyone starts screaming too loudly about being inhumane. The tests would not be something like tossing someone into the vacuum of space to see how long they live. Instead, they would be carefully selected experiments proposed by leading researches who apply for test subjects much they way they currently do for grants money. In this way we could ensure that the convicts aren't treated inhumanely and that they are in some way repaying their debt to society.

Also if it was later found that the convict was innocent, they would still be alive, and some reparation could be made.

What do you think? Where might it go wrong?

Interesting thoughts, but we are getting into some murky legal waters here.

If a convict who was pronounced 'legally dead' was subsequently found innocent, as you suggest; would they have to be 'legally born again'?

Also, the state, having legally killed an innocent person, would then be guilty of legal, judicious murder; could the state then be subject to conviction of murder and sentenced to a legal death in its turn? The state being determined to be 'legally dead'?

Who will mind the shop?

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

I guess thats one way of putting it. Basically their rights would be restored and some compensation would be attempted. Though I see that the concept, or possibility of a legal "rebirth" might create some problems. For one, friends and family might continue the investigation even after a conviction and all appeals have been exhausted on the hope regaining their loved one.

To go any further on this issue I think the concept of legal death must become better defined and I could certainly use some help developing this idea. In my mind, a legally dead person would not be permitted any further appeals or legal representation of any kind. They would also not be able to have visitors or have any contact or communication with the outside world. No TV, no Internet, no phone calls, no mail, no vote, no income. They would also forfeit any wealth or property they possessed, though they would be allowed to create a will before being legally executed.

This is an interesting question but I don't think it is a deal breaker so to speak. To begin with, the death penalty as it stands guarantees that the state will at some point, if not already, be guilty of murdering an innocent person. Yet we do not consider destroying the legal system as a result of this. Rather we view it as a tragic accident, and the mistake is mourned but forgiven. No system can be perfect, and in either case we must rely on the best judgment of a small group of jurors.