Celebrity | Larry Flynt Flynt Doesn't Want Guy Who Paralyzed Him Executed There's no proof death penalty is a deterrent, he writes in column By Evann Gastaldo Posted Oct 17, 2013 3:34 PM CDT Copied Hustler magazine magnate Larry Flynt speaks during a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., Wednesday, July 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian) Joseph Paul Franklin is set to be executed next month for a series of murders. Franklin also shot and paralyzed Hustler publisher Larry Flynt in 1978—but Flynt doesn't want him executed, he reveals today in a guest column for the Hollywood Reporter. "Supporters of capital punishment argue that it is a deterrent which prevents potential murderers from committing future crimes, but research has failed to provide a shred of valid scientific proof to that effect whatsoever," Flynt writes. In addition, execution costs taxpayers more than a life sentence does—and in Flynt's opinion, a life spent in prison is the more severe of the two sentences anyway. "As I see it, the sole motivating factor behind the death penalty is vengeance, not justice, and I firmly believe that a government that forbids killing among its citizens should not be in the business of killing people itself," Flynt concludes. Click for his full column. Read These Next Utah's governor asks a tough question after Kirk shooting. ICE stop ends with driver dead, agent hurt. The suspect in the Charlie Kirk shooting is a 22-year-old from Utah. Not so fast on scanning that QR code. Report an error