Freedom can be restored. Life cannot be restored. Once a feeling of personal safety has been removed, it will take long time before that is restored; and I consider it near inrestorable.
I'm not invoking the mantra of "society's rights", but I am going to say that your rights end where mine begin. You have a right to life, and I have a right to life - You can't strip me of that right. Neither can you, nor a group of people, strip me of my right to freedom. I recognize the state's right to strip me of my freedom should I commit a crime.
Basically, IMHO, the right to a life is a more basic right than the right to freedom. |