In Part I of Sailing Without the Ballast of Reason, Professor Philip Hansten delivers a measured, powerful case against the death penalty. Drawing on Koestler and Camus, he argues that capital punishment is driven by emotion, not reason. He highlights over 200 death row exonerations and concludes that innocent people have almost certainly been executed. The appeals process, he explains, cannot eliminate human error or misconduct. He dismantles deterrence claims with decades of research showing no reliable reduction in homicide rates. His conclusion is direct: the death penalty is morally indefensible and incompatible with equal justice under law.
In Part II of Sailing Without the Ballast of Reason, Prof. Hansten intensifies his critique of capital punishment, exposing the myth that executions save money, detailing how death penalty cases cost far more than life imprisonment. He argues that “justice” often disguises revenge and challenges the hubris of deciding who deserves to die. Drawing on neuroscience, he shows how brain tumors, trauma, development, and genetics shape behavior beyond conscious control. He highlights how hunger, bias, and luck influence judicial outcomes. His conclusion is direct: the death penalty is arbitrary, scientifically indefensible, and incompatible with rational public policy.
The Death Penalty: Sailing Without the Ballast of Reason
In Sailing Without the Ballast of Reason, Professor Philip Hansten dismantles the death penalty with moral clarity and scientific rigor. Across two parts, he exposes wrongful convictions, systemic bias, hidden costs, failed deterrence, and the neuroscience of human behavior—arguing that capital punishment is arbitrary, emotionally driven, and incompatible with reason, justice, and equal protection under law.