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China Says Serious Polluters Will Get the Death Penalty
formaggio writes "According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese government is now allowing courts to punish those who commit environment crimes with the death penalty. The new judicial interpretation comes in the wake of several serious environmental problems that have hit the country over the last few months, including dangerous levels of air pollution, a river full of dead pigs, and other development projects that have imperiled public health."
This isn't saying you are executed for littering. This looks to be establishing the maximal punishment.
Think more along the lines of "knowingly poisoning hundreds of thousands of people."
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
That scenario really isn't different from murder. In the US you could be tried for second degree murder for something like that.
Even if that were true, this law is 100% effective at preventing repeat offenders.
Freakanomics did a great study on the effectiveness of fines that seems especially relevant to your comment: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/15/books/chapters/0515-1st-levitt.html