Is the death penalty better or worse than life in prison?

Anton Chekhov, today on the Classic Tales podcast.

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And without further ado, The Bet, by Anton Chekhov.

It was a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how 15 years before he

had given a party one autumn evening.

There had been many clever men there, and there had been interesting conversations.

Among other things, they had talked of capital punishment.

The majority of the guests, among whom were many journalists and intellectual men,

disapproved of the death penalty.

They considered that form of punishment out-of of date, immoral, and unsuitable

for Christian states. In the opinion of some of them, the death penalty ought to be replaced

everywhere by imprisonment for life.

"'I don't agree with you,' said their host the banker.

"'I have not tried either the death penalty or imprisonment for life,

but if one may judge a priory,

the death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life.

...