Brotherly Intervention
The New York Times, Op-Ed, A25, November 29, 1997
2 Pages Posted: 3 Mar 2005
Abstract
This article is about the Kaczynski brothers. David Kaczynski said he had helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation capture his brother only because he believed prosecutors shared his view that his brother is mentally ill, a disturbed, sad, lonely, isolated person, who should be detained but not executed. David Kaczynski made a painful decision for our protection. Although the F.B.I. may have eventually caught his brother, Mr. Kaczynski's help saved not just time, but possibly lives.
Do prosecutors owe it to him not to seek the death penalty? I think not. Criminal justice is a matter not of personal accommodation but of societal principles. Good deeds by one cannot reduce another's guilt and the deserved punishment.
Keywords: punishment
JEL Classification: K14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation