Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

North Korea reportedly executing people for watching South Korean television

That seems excessive, even for the thuggish NoKo monarchy. The report seems a bit thinly sourced, but if it were true I would not be surprised. I wonder if there is a good study of death penalties by society and crime — that is, what kinds of societies deemed what offenses to require the death ...

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Flickr
Flickr

That seems excessive, even for the thuggish NoKo monarchy. The report seems a bit thinly sourced, but if it were true I would not be surprised.

That seems excessive, even for the thuggish NoKo monarchy. The report seems a bit thinly sourced, but if it were true I would not be surprised.

I wonder if there is a good study of death penalties by society and crime — that is, what kinds of societies deemed what offenses to require the death penalty?

In considering that, one thing to keep in mind is that death is not the ultimate penalty. Even worse is penalizing an entire extended family, village, tribe, or sect. That sort of collective punishment has happened surprisingly often, from ancient China to modern Syria.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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