Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty

The death penalty for terrorism suspects? Questions to Consider

The death penalty’s concerning flaws don’t go away for a higher profile crime like terrorism. In fact, incidents like terrorism can raise even more concerns. For example, an executed terrorist might take valuable intelligence information to his or her grave. Executions are final, forever cutting off further avenues for questioning that might have helped stop future terrorist acts. Furthermore, many people who commit acts of terrorism want to become martyrs. Executing them could give them what they want, emboldening their compatriots or even potentially recruiting others to their cause. For many conservatives, these considerations raise added questions about the death penalty’s efficacy in terrorism cases, questions that compound our existing concerns about the death penalty overall.
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