Even when it’s not the state (what? Is it better if it’s a random militia or a tribe that calls murder justice?)
A revolutionary context is probably the only appropriate time for the death penalty. You don't have the resources of a state to keep someone in indefinite custody, and the whole premise of a revolution is that things have gotten so bad you're willing to kill people to reorganize society.
A revolutionary context is probably the only appropriate time for the death penalty. You don't have the resources of a state to keep someone in indefinite custody, and the whole premise of a revolution is that things have gotten so bad you're willing to kill people to reorganize society.
Indeed, from my couch it would be very presumptuous to argue what is the « « best » » thing to do in desperate times calling for desperate measures.
My point was that Robespierre, just like Louis XVI, ended up guillotined.