d'Iodos' View of the Empire

D'Iodos was not against the death penalty, per se, and would support it if it was in Athens' best interest. But he strongly believed that Cleon's solution here would not be the most useful for the Athenians when they had to deal with revolts in the future. Which he argues because of human nature would happen no matter how harsh the punishment. And so the more useful countermeasure is a mild punishment that will allow for reconciliation when the revolt appears likely to fail.