10 famous opinions about the death penalty

1. Swiss philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
   1. “No man should be put to death, even as an example… There is no man so bad that he cannot be made good for something.”
2. South African Archbishop, Desmond Tutu
   1. “To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.”
3. Chinese monk and founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order, Hsing Yun
   1. “Abolishing capital punishment is not valid by the laws of karma.”
4. British former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher 
   1. “I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live.”
5. American science-fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein 
   1. “Under what circumstances is it moral for a group to do that which is not moral for a member of that group to do alone?”
6. Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov 
   1. “The state is not God. It does not have the right to take away what it cannot restore.”
7. American lawyer and social justice activist, Bryan Stevenson
   1. “The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment is - do we deserve to kill?”
8. French poet and novelist, Victor Hugo 
   1. "What says the law? You will not kill. How does it say it? By killing!"“
9. American former President, George W Bush Jnr.
   1. “I don’t think you should support the death penalty to seek revenge. I don’t think that’s right. I think the reason to support the death penalty is because it saves other people’s lives.“
10.  Roman philosopher, Cicero
    1. “Let the punishment match the offence.”