The Death Penalty
Read this link.
Who leads the world in executions? Us, the Chinese, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Great company.
I used to be a strong death penalty supporter. Back in high school, I remember debating my debate partner, Derek, and especially his sister, Jodi, on this very matter. I was the conservative; Derek and Jodi were crazy liberals. You know what? They were right.
The reason the death penalty has been abandoned by every single other "advanced" country is very simple: 1) it has nothing to do with justice; 2) it has everything to do with politics; and 3) it is never adjudicated fairly.
First case: justice. Justice has to do with keeping the worst criminals off the street. Well, life in prison without parole does that just as efficiently as putting someone to death. To put someone to death is a simple act of vengeance. And for a country so concerned with the Bible and its Word, they should take heed in the passage that says vengeance is for God only.
Second case: politics. I saw this too many times in Texas, when I lived there. Prosecuters have to be elected, and so they don't want to seem "soft on crime." So they go for the maximum when they can in the most media-interested cases, and sometimes even in the lesser cases. I reached the opinion that most times, the death penalty was evoked, not because of the nature of the crime, but because the cameras were on the D.A., and if it was an election year, strike up the band.
Third case: it just ain't fair. Look, study after study has shown the same thing: if you are rich, you don't get death. If you are white: you have a lesser chance to get death. If you are poor: you probably get death, because your lawyer sucks. If you are black and killed a white person, you are guaranteed to get death. The system for putting people to death is broken. That is why many states have put a moratorium on the death penalty. How can you call it justice when a certain segment of the population repeatedly gets put to death row when another does not?
I've come to hate the death penalty. We are a better country than that. We should act it.
Who leads the world in executions? Us, the Chinese, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
Great company.
I used to be a strong death penalty supporter. Back in high school, I remember debating my debate partner, Derek, and especially his sister, Jodi, on this very matter. I was the conservative; Derek and Jodi were crazy liberals. You know what? They were right.
The reason the death penalty has been abandoned by every single other "advanced" country is very simple: 1) it has nothing to do with justice; 2) it has everything to do with politics; and 3) it is never adjudicated fairly.
First case: justice. Justice has to do with keeping the worst criminals off the street. Well, life in prison without parole does that just as efficiently as putting someone to death. To put someone to death is a simple act of vengeance. And for a country so concerned with the Bible and its Word, they should take heed in the passage that says vengeance is for God only.
Second case: politics. I saw this too many times in Texas, when I lived there. Prosecuters have to be elected, and so they don't want to seem "soft on crime." So they go for the maximum when they can in the most media-interested cases, and sometimes even in the lesser cases. I reached the opinion that most times, the death penalty was evoked, not because of the nature of the crime, but because the cameras were on the D.A., and if it was an election year, strike up the band.
Third case: it just ain't fair. Look, study after study has shown the same thing: if you are rich, you don't get death. If you are white: you have a lesser chance to get death. If you are poor: you probably get death, because your lawyer sucks. If you are black and killed a white person, you are guaranteed to get death. The system for putting people to death is broken. That is why many states have put a moratorium on the death penalty. How can you call it justice when a certain segment of the population repeatedly gets put to death row when another does not?
I've come to hate the death penalty. We are a better country than that. We should act it.
posted by cc at
1:22 PM
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