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What’s the limit then, a hundred? What if a political party manages to convince a judge that a hundred political rivals conspired to kill one of theirs, so they’re all executed? Disproportionate retaliation encourages the manipulation of state power via the justice system as a weapon against rivals.
If in the course of our crusade against murder, we end up killing more people than actual murderers kill, I’d take it as an ‘are we the baddies?’ moment. There should never be a doubt as to whose hands are cleaner. Through our displays of superior mercy, even the condemned's supporters have to recognize our verdicts as unimpeachable.
legal or practical? No legal limit, but there is a practical limit with how many people can be responsible for murder enough to qualify for such sentence
(though yes, if 1000 people gathered for ritualistic murder and planned and did it together for express purpose of murdering someone? I am OK with throwing murder charge on all of them. If death penalty is on books I would not have greater problem with it than in regular murder case)
You forgot about indirect impact. If Vatican has zero murder rate and Swiss Guard killed someone to prevent murder it does not mean they are baddies.
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