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I'm not trying to change anyone's mind - these are just my opinions. But running from the cops isn't a capital offense (if it were, that would shorten a lot of foot chases considerably), and while the danger to uninvolved innocents in a chase is a real possibility, we don't execute people for what they *might* do -the police don't necessarily wait for the act to be committed, but they at least wait until the offense is imminent. After all, even a simple foot chase could easily end in a hostage situation if there are uninvolved people around - does that mean that the police are justified in shooting any criminal that takes off on foot?
And as for the whole "we'd see a lot less of this kind of thing if the police could just kill the offenders" argument - that's absolutely true, but it's not justification. We'd see a lot less shoplifting if it were a capital offense and subject to on-the-spot execution, but that doesn't make it a good idea.
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