Death Penalty
This is from a comment that I put on Theory of Thought's blog.
Yes, I have no problem with people who are being executed feeling some pain. However, I think we should go back to public, daylight executions, if we are going to keep doing them. If you are using execution as a deterrent, why hide it? You could have firing squads, or public hangings, or guillotines. Or maybe gladiatorial games, a la The Running Man. It's so hypocritical to be pro-death penalty, and then take such measures to hide the execution.
I've tended to be pro-death penalty, myself, because there are some people out there who really are so vile that they are never going to see the light of day again, and they have done some things so terrible that that should die for them. The only problem is determining who they are and getting it right.
You hear about a case where some 18 year old broke into a convienience store and got surprised by the owner and shot and killed him, and, then, 30 years later, he's being put to death. That's crazy. You shouldn't be killed just because you screwed up and that happened to cost someone else his life.
Now, what is someone is a serial murderer who has been kidnapping 12 year old boys and girls from a town and torturing and raping and killing them, for 15 years, having killed several hundred? I think most would agree that this person shouldn't be allowed to live.
Where's the middle ground?
The other big problem is that our legal system sometimes convicts innocent people, as is proven years later by new evidence. If you kill the innocents, are you any better than the criminals?
And then, there's the appeal after appeal, for years and years. Why am I paying tax dollars so that a serial murder can sit in prison and eat and live, dragging out his case to keep himself alive a few more years? But, then we are back to the not convicting innocents again.
I guess the whole legal system needs to refined to take less time, but not get the wrong people.
So, should we be against the death penalty because it can end up killing innocents? I don't know, but I do know that I'm for killing those who are guilty of the most heinous crimes.
Yes, I have no problem with people who are being executed feeling some pain. However, I think we should go back to public, daylight executions, if we are going to keep doing them. If you are using execution as a deterrent, why hide it? You could have firing squads, or public hangings, or guillotines. Or maybe gladiatorial games, a la The Running Man. It's so hypocritical to be pro-death penalty, and then take such measures to hide the execution.
I've tended to be pro-death penalty, myself, because there are some people out there who really are so vile that they are never going to see the light of day again, and they have done some things so terrible that that should die for them. The only problem is determining who they are and getting it right.
You hear about a case where some 18 year old broke into a convienience store and got surprised by the owner and shot and killed him, and, then, 30 years later, he's being put to death. That's crazy. You shouldn't be killed just because you screwed up and that happened to cost someone else his life.
Now, what is someone is a serial murderer who has been kidnapping 12 year old boys and girls from a town and torturing and raping and killing them, for 15 years, having killed several hundred? I think most would agree that this person shouldn't be allowed to live.
Where's the middle ground?
The other big problem is that our legal system sometimes convicts innocent people, as is proven years later by new evidence. If you kill the innocents, are you any better than the criminals?
And then, there's the appeal after appeal, for years and years. Why am I paying tax dollars so that a serial murder can sit in prison and eat and live, dragging out his case to keep himself alive a few more years? But, then we are back to the not convicting innocents again.
I guess the whole legal system needs to refined to take less time, but not get the wrong people.
So, should we be against the death penalty because it can end up killing innocents? I don't know, but I do know that I'm for killing those who are guilty of the most heinous crimes.
posted by Jamie at 11:47 AM
9 comments
