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sweetprinceI know that a good portion of America supports the death penalty. I understand why, although it breaks my heart a little. Because it's not about Justice, it's about revenge. There are just a lot of things that don't add up, you know? We must respect the "sanctity" of life of unborn fetuses, but fuck off if you think sentient independantly breathing criminals also should be allowed to continue in the world.
Part of it probably has to do with the way I was raised, or maybe I am just soft, and I can't really bear the thought of people dying when they shouldn't.
It is simply a fact that the death penalty does not deter crime. It is rather the likelihood of being caught that deters people. If the punishment for murdering somebody in broad daylight with thousands of people watching is the same as murdering somebody out in the wilderness with nobody for hundreds of miles, what's to stop a person from murdering during the day? Simple truth, thousands of people watching? No way you'd get away with it (unless your name is George W. Bush).
Most of the people wind up on death row live dangerous lives. The death penalty is no deterrent if within their average day on the streets they might get killed.
Furthermore, it's hardly cheaper to go around executing people rather than maintaining them in prison for the rest of their days. The state of Georgia spent $3 billion in 2003 executing people. Just imagine what that could've been better spent on like health care and schools and public works.
But it's not just that...
I suppose I believe that the only life a person has the right to take is their own. Although I do believe as John Locke says, "That which attempts to destroy me, I have the right to destroy." Although certainly, even in instances where people are trying to kill you, if it can be averted by anything less than fatal force, I'd be most partial to it.
Not to mention we can hardly claim to be better than criminals when we kill them. The problem with death is that it's so permanent. You can't take it back once the DNA you scrape off the electric chair exonerates them. For me, incarceration, better yet, justice is not about punitive measures, but preventative measures--to deter both the criminal and others who might follow their example.
Part of it probably has to do with the way I was raised, or maybe I am just soft, and I can't really bear the thought of people dying when they shouldn't.
It is simply a fact that the death penalty does not deter crime. It is rather the likelihood of being caught that deters people. If the punishment for murdering somebody in broad daylight with thousands of people watching is the same as murdering somebody out in the wilderness with nobody for hundreds of miles, what's to stop a person from murdering during the day? Simple truth, thousands of people watching? No way you'd get away with it (unless your name is George W. Bush).
Most of the people wind up on death row live dangerous lives. The death penalty is no deterrent if within their average day on the streets they might get killed.
Furthermore, it's hardly cheaper to go around executing people rather than maintaining them in prison for the rest of their days. The state of Georgia spent $3 billion in 2003 executing people. Just imagine what that could've been better spent on like health care and schools and public works.
But it's not just that...
I suppose I believe that the only life a person has the right to take is their own. Although I do believe as John Locke says, "That which attempts to destroy me, I have the right to destroy." Although certainly, even in instances where people are trying to kill you, if it can be averted by anything less than fatal force, I'd be most partial to it.
Not to mention we can hardly claim to be better than criminals when we kill them. The problem with death is that it's so permanent. You can't take it back once the DNA you scrape off the electric chair exonerates them. For me, incarceration, better yet, justice is not about punitive measures, but preventative measures--to deter both the criminal and others who might follow their example.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-25 01:10 am (UTC)Besides the moral aspect, and the fact that the DP has no signs on deterrence, the DP itself is part of a legal system that is completely biased and steeped in institutional racism and classism. When I was an undergrad journalism student years ago, I worked in Chicago with an investigative team that was proving that all these death penalty cases were corrupt...they showed that something like 2/3 of the folks on death row in Illinois were actually innocent, and had ended up on death row due to prejudices in the legal system. This sort of investigative work would later force the Illinois governor to put a moratorium on the death penalty. Of course it just made me me wonder...how many innocent people are we killing and calling it justice?
no subject
Date: 2008-03-25 01:43 am (UTC)