Agree to Disagree

Agree to Disagree with Sam N Dan, a legal debate podcast hosted by trial attorneys Sam Meirowitz and Dan Wasserberg. Episode 2: Should the U.S. keep the death penalty?If the government got it wrong 203 times sentencing people to death, would you trust it to get it right the next time? That's not a hypothetical. Since 1973, 203 people sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated. Yet in 2025, the country carried out 47 executions, the most in more than 15 years. Attorneys Sam Meirowitz and Dan Wasserberg go head to head on whether America should keep the death penalty or end it for good.Samuel Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg are partners at Meirowitz & Wasserberg LLP, a law firm representing mesothelioma, accident and injury victims. On Agree to Disagree, they take opposite sides of today's most divisive issues and argue them the way they would in a courtroom. The goal is to show that in an era of tribal politics, you can disagree fiercely and still walk away with respect.*Content warning* This episode discusses capital punishment, violent crime, and other sensitive subjects. Please take care while watching. This episode was recorded before Christa Pike’s execution attempt. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these events. Sam and Dan were assigned their positions for this debate. The arguments they present do not necessarily reflect their personal beliefs. Sam and Dan are assigned their positions for each debate, and the arguments they make may not reflect their personal views.In this episode, they debate:■ The Plea Deal Paradox: Why a killer who confesses can take execution off the table while a defendant who maintains their innocence at trial still risks death row, and Sam's case that deals bring cooperation, recovered bodies and closure for victims' families.■ The Deterrence Question: Dan's argument that the threat of execution makes would-be killers think twice, against Sam's view that nobody runs a cost-benefit analysis with a gun in their hand.■ The Mistake-Free Hypothetical: Whether the death penalty could be justified in a perfect system, and why Sam, a former prosecutor who studied at Cardozo Law School, home of the Innocence Project, says an irreversible punishment can't survive the errors and bias of the real one.■ Life Behind Bars vs. Death Row: Dan's former client who killed two people and later walked out on parole, a 21-year-old Sam prosecuted who was sentenced to 50 years to life, and whether life without parole is the cheaper, harsher and safer sentence.■ Justice or Revenge: Dan's admission that he's not sure there's much of a difference, his concern that due process is too complicated to handle violent gangs like MS-13, and Sam's argument that policy can't be written in anyone's most emotional moment.00:00:00 Intro00:02:08 Why Does Confessing Take Death Off the Table?00:07:26 Does the Death Penalty Deter Murder?00:09:05 The Idaho Murders and the Kohberger Plea Deal00:11:39 What If the System Never Made Mistakes?00:17:53 The Client Who Killed Twice and Got Parole00:21:47 Is Life in Prison Worse Than Death?00:23:29 Cartels, Gangs and Due Process00:25:44 What's the Difference Between Justice and Revenge?00:31:15 Closing ArgumentsFollow Sam n Dan:◼ Website - https://www.samndan.com/ ◼ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@samndan ◼ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/meirowitz-&-wasserberg-llp/ ◼Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/people/Meirowitz-Wasserberg-Mesothelioma-Accident-Injury-Lawyers/100046452325254/ sam n dan, samndan, sam and dan, agree to disagree, agree to disagree podcast, sam n dan podcast, sam meirowitz, dan wasserberg, meirowitz and wasserberg, legal debate podcast, lawyers debate, death penalty debate, capital punishment, should the death penalty be abolished, death row exonerations, innocence project, justice vs revenge#SamNDan #AgreeToDisagree #DebatePodcast #DeathPenalty

Would you board a plane if you knew the pilot was 80 years old? Pilots, police officers and many state judges all face mandatory retirement ages. The people who write our laws, send troops to war and appoint judges for life face none. Attorneys Sam Meirowitz and Dan Wasserberg go head to head on whether America needs an age limit for its politicians.

Samuel Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg are partners at Meirowitz & Wasserberg LLP, a law firm representing mesothelioma, accident and injury victims. On Agree to Disagree, they take opposite sides of today's most divisive issues and argue them the way they would in a courtroom. The goal is to show that in an era of tribal politics, you can disagree fiercely and still walk away with respect.

Please note: Sam and Dan are assigned their positions for each debate, and the arguments they make may not reflect their personal views.

In this episode, they debate:

■ The Magic Number: Why Sam's proposed cutoff moves from 75 to 70 before landing at 72, the latest age a president could take office and serve two full terms without governing into their 80s.

■ Let the Voters Decide: Dan's case that age is a poor proxy for competence, and that a hard cap overrides the judgment of 330 million Americans.

■ The Cognitive Test Trap: Why testing politicians' mental fitness sounds fair but may be impossible to design for the job, easy to manipulate and hard for a skeptical public to trust.

■ The 25th Amendment Illusion: Why the constitutional safeguard for an unfit president works like a nuclear button that loyal insiders will almost never press, even when their concerns leak to the press.

■ The Term Limit Tradeoff: Whether a ticking clock would force politicians to cut deals faster, or throw away the relationships and experience it takes a decade to build.

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:39 Why We Started Agree to Disagree

00:08:01 Biden, Trump and the Oldest Presidents in History

00:12:15 Should Supreme Court Justices Serve Until They Die?

00:14:17 Is Age a Good Proxy for Competence?

00:16:13 Should Politicians Take Cognitive Tests?

00:20:46 Should Congress Have Term Limits?

00:26:32 Is the 25th Amendment Enough?

00:30:12 Picking the Number: 75, 70 or 72?

00:33:31 Closing Arguments

Follow Meirowitz-Wasserberg LLP:

◼ Website - https://www.samndan.com/

◼ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@samndan

◼ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/meirowitz-&-wasserberg-llp/

◼ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/people/Meirowitz-Wasserberg-Mesothelioma-Accident-Injury-Lawyers/100046452325254/