No. I'm saying if the penalty is too soft, then the law won't be respected. If every time you got pulled over for speeding, the cops let you off with a warning, you wouldn't think twice about speeding all the time. If you get a stiff penalty/fine, then you may or may not be deterred from speeding - you assess the risk and speed sometimes if you choose. BUT the fact they enforce the law keeps most people honest. Again, it's not a deterrent thing, it's the respect for the law that keeps people honest. EDIT: Nice info on the Alaska.edu www site about the death penalty, pro and con. I see this is prominent, and not exactly as you described but closer to my statement: http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/death/issues.html [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+1][SIZE=-1]Death penalty advocates justify capital punishment under the principle of lex talionis, or "an eye for an eye" -- the belief that punishment should fit the crime. [/SIZE][/SIZE][/FONT]In my speeding example, the warning is the punishment not fitting the crime.
