| Product: |
Capital punishment |
| Date: |
11.01.07 (202 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: none
Disadvantages: wrong guy gets executed
I used to think that the saying an eye for an eye was fair, and in most cases it probably is. It is the little doubts, the niggling of the conscience, and the general state of the justice system that has changed my point of view.
Recent goings on in the world have given me cause to rethink my position, and to reflect on what I really believe in. If such a barbaric practice is to continue it must be done in such a fashion that their can be no reprisals. It must also be done in a dignified manner if such is possible for this situation, which I severely doubt.
And as I write this I have noticed I have already used the word doubt twice, which brings me to the point that if there is even the slightest doubt about guilt then this sentence cannot be seriously considered as a punishment for the crime no matter what the crime. There will be very few circumstances when given all the evidence and witness statements where conclusive guilt can be the verdict. I cannot believe that there will never be a glimmer of doubt in the mind of a jury member. Conflicting evidence must surely place a small seed of uncertainty there.
Apart from the fact that hanging in particular is absolutely barbaric there can surely be no moral reasoning for such a punishment. Killing someone for committing a crime especially should that crime be against children is something we all discuss and in the heat of the moment probably accept. On reflection in your own privacy can you honestly condone such actions. The execution for a crime will not alter the fact that the crime no matter how horrible has been committed and its consequences therefore cannot be changed. Imprisonment although not a perfect alternative seems to me to be the fairest solution, having said this LIFE must be LIFE no getting our for good behaviour, as another old saying goes a leopard never changes his spots.
As for the procedures they have in the good old USA they are no less barbaric than hanging, the mental anguish of someone waiting for years on death row cannot in any way be justified, the punishment may be justifiable, but the wit for its completion cannot. Imagine knowing your are innocent and yet still having to wait for some kind of reprieve, some appeal, some fresh evidence, and all of this with the threat of the death sentence hanging over your head. It cannot be justified at least not in my book it can’t.
I cannot see at any time in the future where such actions could possibly be an acceptable form of punishment. Even if some more humane way were found to enact this torturous penalty, there will always be that doubt, I know many will disagree but the eye for an eye can no longer be tolerated in civilized society.
RANT over
Summary: A barbaric practice that must be ended
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