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With the November elections just a few weeks away, a number of state-level politicians are baying for the death penalty to be extended to repeat child molesters. Oklahoma and South Carolina have already passed such laws this year, and now law-and-order candidates from Texas to Minnesota want to see their states do the same. Never mind the usual ethical arguments – critics point out that these laws could easily backfire: if child rapists know they could face execution anyway, why not silence their victims by murdering them?
