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For me, this is a classic dilemma where universal human rights (or at least my idea of them) conflict with democracy and national sovereignty. On the one hand I oppose the death penalty, because I think giving the State the right to kill people is extremely dangerous and despotic - quite apart from the rather obvious issue that what happens if an executed convict has subsequently been proven to be innocent? On the other hand, I respect the right of democracies such as the US and Japan to retain and use it, if their populations wish as much.
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