> If if the judges wrongly sent me to jail "for life", at least I'd have some hope that one day I can convince them they were wrong and get to freedom again.
Is your German government any more able to restore your lost decades than my government is able to restore lost life?
For some crimes execution is unjust; for others it is just. It is just as unjust to allow someone who deserves death to live as it is unjust to execute someone who deserves life.
> It is just as unjust to allow someone who deserves death to live as it is unjust to execute someone who deserves life
It's long been a general principle of criminal law, at least in the US, that convicting someone who is innocent is in fact more unjust than acquitting someone who is guilty. The sentiment has been expressed by Voltaire, Blackstone, Ben Franklin, and a good number of others, going back to at least the 18th century.
This is why (again in the US) conviction requires proof "beyond a reasonable doubt".
> Is your German government any more able to restore your lost decades than my government is able to restore lost life?
You get 25E per day[1] of unjust imprisonment. And it's not 25E you actually get, some amount is subtracted for "lodging and food". And when you need social benefits, you'll have to use that money first before getting them. But what the comment you were responding to said is true: At least you are not dead. Though I'm not sure there is much difference for those who have to suffer such injustice.
> It is just as unjust to allow someone who deserves death to live as it is unjust to execute someone who deserves life.
No, it's not. For one thing, 50/50 guilty or innocent is nowhere near sufficient to qualify as 'proof beyond a reasonable doubt' that can convict someone - which is exactly what your moral equivalence implies.
There are plenty of arguments to be made about how convicting an innocent person creates far more injustice then not convicting a guilty one, the difference between a well-oiled, 'cool-headed' criminal system meting out injustice, compared to a crime of passion, systemic bias...
Your death penalty govermnent can't resurrect you from the deaths. And also most people stop caring if your sentence was correct after they killed you. Years behind bars are a horror, but at least you can do something about it. And in the US, they keep you behind bars for years anyway before you get murdered by the government. It is not like the judge wants to bring you to death and after a day or two your nightmare comes to rest (as will your life).
Is your German government any more able to restore your lost decades than my government is able to restore lost life?
For some crimes execution is unjust; for others it is just. It is just as unjust to allow someone who deserves death to live as it is unjust to execute someone who deserves life.