Consider this...
Frenchkid, you brought up an excellent point in the death penalty arguement, that is what if one innocent person is convicted and executed, then doesn\'t they system fail??? I would agree with you except there is another side, that is how many lives are sacrificed due to keeping convicted felons alive in jail. Ever year there are correction officers that are attacked, injured and sometimes killed by these dangerous animals that many people would like to keep alive for a lifetime of repentenance. Prisons also harbor diseases as well, believe it or not the AIDS virus is rampant in prison since most gang rapes in jail do not take place in \"safe sex\" conditions as well. While I really don\'t care about the transmission of this disease from inmate to inmate, I do care about the healthcare workers and prison staff members who become infected while doing their job, that is being caretakers to these animals. While I will agree that in rare instances innocent people have fallen victim to unfair verdicts and been sentenced to death, it is much more common that innocent lives are ended in prolonging the lives of these killers. Yes, they system is not perfect but nothing is.
You ask how would I feel if I were an innocent person convicted to die about to be killed? Again, this is an excellent question. I would feel cheated and robbed, angry and frustrated, much the way you would expect me to feel. Consider this though, how do you think the murder victims felt in those last moments of their lives, when their lives were being ended? Don\'t you think that in their hearts they were hoping for justice and that society would make sure that no one else ever had to suffer at their killer\'s hands? I am quite sure these would be my thoughts and that I would scream out from my grave to all that were alive that justice be done.
I understand that you and many others are not religious, I can undertsand your confusion that forgivenness offers. Let me start by saying that their is a difference in forgiving and forgetting. Society can forgive you of your transgressions, just the same way that you God may forgive you, but \"I\'m sorry\" does not always make things right and does not erase the fact that the crime was committed. The act of compassion and forgiveness, the abililty to empathizes with the criminal does not negate the necessity of punishment in any way. There is a punishment that comes with any crime. Punishment does not always have to right a wrong to be fair and just, since often the wrong may not be possible to correct through punishment. Punishment also serves two other purposes, one is deterrence to others , and second as a way of preventing the act from being carried out again. People here have said that the death penalty is not a deterrent. The death penalty is a deterrent in that the individual that is given death NEVER will be allowed to commit his or her crime again. Yes, taking the killers \'s life will never restore the victim;s life i agree, but just beacause the punishment cannot correct the original crime, it does not make the punishment invalid since punishment also can serve fulfill the other purposes and still be fair and just. I hope thsi can help you to see the difference between forgiveness and paying the price for your crime. To use your analogy, Jesus forgave Judeus for the betrayal, but he also did nothing to prevent the death of Judeus, even though this act was self inflicted it was penishment for the crime that was committed. Since Jesus had the gift of foresight, don\'t you think he could have stopped Judeus from hanging himself is he wanted to? While this is not the best analogy it still shows the difference between forgiveness and having consequences to your actions.
The question of education and crime also arose. Let me share with you that education and many lesser crimes such as larceny and robbery are linked, since some of the people who commit these crimes do feel that they have limited opportunity, however most murderers have normal or higher education levels, some being at genius level like Ted Bundy. While murder is a crime committed by street thugs and gang banger, it also is a crime committed intelligent and educated predators who stalk the innocents in society as well. Again, we all have opportunities in life too, and everyone in the US has the opportunity to better themselves through education, though this opportunity is not the equally the same everywhere, it exists in some form clear across our land. Bill Clinton became president of our country, while I will never be counted as his supporter, I do know he came from a poor single family upbringing in from the state of Arkansas, which at the time was rated the worst of all 50 states in education. Thurgood Marshall, a black United States supreme court justice, put himself through law school while working as a janitor. Bill Gates came from a very modest unbringing as well, kinda shows you what a college dropout can do doesn\'t it? People in the lowest levels of our society are never doomed to a life a crime just because of their lack of education, that is, if they choose to better themselves, while it is not always easy, it can be done. People are not born into a life a crime and criminals are not molded by their surrounding, it is weak individuals that take the easy way out and create their own misfortunes by following the path of least resistance in most cases.
Lastly, Ghandi. What was that quote?, \"An eye for an eye and the world goes blind\"? No offence but if he were such a great leader he would have better united his people and helped lead them out of the poverty that India is still gripped with. While non violence has its place, passive resistance does not solve all things and inaction often is far worse that even the most feeble effort. Here are a few better word to live by, \"A coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave man only one\", or maybe even \"Beef..it\'s what\'s for dinner\". ( Yes, that last one was wrong, but I couldn\'t help myself!)
The death penaly is not a perfect solution that much is true, but in my heart I believe it to be the solution that is needed to help protect society from a small group of individuals that have nothing left to offer but further pain and suffering.
\"Of course that is just my opinion, I could be wrong...\"- Dennis Miller
