And there I agree...in our current situation, I much prefer live (er,
life) imprisonment to the death sentence, first because it allows for more
time to correct errors if the person's innocent; and second, if the person's
guilty...deny him an easy way out.

But again, that's *here* and *now* and may not necessarily reflect the
sorts of problems and considerations that may exist on a station such as B5.

Leviathan: you say that the law should "protect, not avenge." But
protect how? How do you protect against the lover who, in a fit of jealous
rage, knifes his fiancee to death? Do we have cameras in every room of every
house, monitoring for potentially dangerous behavior? What is the dividing
point between privacy and endangerment? Is not the aspect of protection or
prevention hinged upon the idea of retribution if caught? If there is no
avengement, where then is the prevention? If there is any privacy at all,
where is the protection?

jms