Is The Death Penalty Justified?
This question has caused me to think
a lot. For a long time I had no problem with the death penalty. For the most
part it seemed justified if someone took the life of another. However, there
have been several cases where the “guilty” person was found innocent after DNA
evidence became available. These were people who we’re on death row. I don’t
think we could ever make the system 100% accurate. How many cases are open and
shut?
Does someone have to kill another
person in order to be given the death penalty? I would say no, but it would have
to be very limited. For me, that means pedophiles, slavery and child sex
trafficking. The evidence would have to be overwhelming.
Should someone who is given the death
penalty be executed in a humane manner? Or, should there be any pain involved?
The emotional side would say yes the person should have to suffer like the
victims did. The logical side would argue that violates the cruel and unusual
punishment clause in the constitution.
Executing someone is not cruel and
unusual punishment in my mind. But I would not support taking the manner of how
the victims died into how the guilty person will die.
If you did not execute the person but
gave them very hard labor which led to killing them would that constitute cruel
and unusual punishment? I would tend to say yes. I had outlined in an earlier
question what hard time meant to me for a prisoner. I do make a distinction
between hard time and hard labor.
Having the death penalty as a
sentence needs to be debated. Some societies never execute a person because
they feel it is morally wrong. Others go in the other direction and execute for
much lesser offensives.
When a government takes a person’s
life, it better have no doubt. There can’t be mistakes. This is my position
today, however, it may evolve.
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