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Death Penalty
Feb. 5th, 2004 12:57 pmI am both for and against the death penalty.
That sounds so weasel-wordy, I know, but I can explain it.
I believe that there are people who are so twisted inside, so incapable of interacting with soceity in any fashion other than violence, that rehabilitation is just not feasible. I believe that someone who goes on killing or raping sprees, who mutilates, maims, or tortures other people is truly insane. The term 'mad dog' comes to mind. You do not lock a mad dog up for the rest of its existence, you kill it. Why? Three reasons: Firstly, you do this so that it cannot harm or kill others. Second, you do this so that it cannot spread the disease. Thirdly, you do so because otherwise, the dog suffers. You do not enjoy killing a mad dog. You do not prolong its death. You kill it quickly and cleanly, because it has already suffered enough. This is not vengeance, this is mercy. This is why I am for the death penalty, so long as the method employed is quick and clean.
I also believe that various of the methods currently employed by the US are not quick and clean ways of killing someone. I also know that our current travesty of a justice system sets far to many rapists and other violent, repeat offenders free after a decade or so, while imprisoning for life people whose only offense was possession of a few pounds of marijuana. There are also documented incidences, and far too many of them, of people who were sent to death row, when police, prosecuter, and judge all knew that the person was innocent. But the public wants results, and assurances that they'll be safe, even if those assurances are false. I also have sadistic tendencies. I can think of no worse punishment than to be forever locked up, never free, in a prison This is why I am against the death penalty.
Ultimately, I am for the death penalty, but against the circumstances and systm under which this punishment is currently carried out in this country. I am of the personal opinion that a great deal of crime could be prevented by better education at the youth level, and that the first goal of a prison should be to rehabilitate; the second goal to keep the inmates out of soceity until they can at least interact with others in a non-violent way.
-sigh- Whateveer happened to polite, open-minded debate? I think that I'll be doing more of these types of posts over the next few weeks/months. If nothing else, it'll be a good mental excercise for me. Feel free to link to any of them as they come out; the whole point here is a starting point for polite, open-minded debate. I want to try and get people to think about the reasons that they are for or against something, and to help folks to see and understand both sides of an issue.
That, and I'm giving serious consideration to sending these off to Congresspeople, Senators, and the President.
That sounds so weasel-wordy, I know, but I can explain it.
I believe that there are people who are so twisted inside, so incapable of interacting with soceity in any fashion other than violence, that rehabilitation is just not feasible. I believe that someone who goes on killing or raping sprees, who mutilates, maims, or tortures other people is truly insane. The term 'mad dog' comes to mind. You do not lock a mad dog up for the rest of its existence, you kill it. Why? Three reasons: Firstly, you do this so that it cannot harm or kill others. Second, you do this so that it cannot spread the disease. Thirdly, you do so because otherwise, the dog suffers. You do not enjoy killing a mad dog. You do not prolong its death. You kill it quickly and cleanly, because it has already suffered enough. This is not vengeance, this is mercy. This is why I am for the death penalty, so long as the method employed is quick and clean.
I also believe that various of the methods currently employed by the US are not quick and clean ways of killing someone. I also know that our current travesty of a justice system sets far to many rapists and other violent, repeat offenders free after a decade or so, while imprisoning for life people whose only offense was possession of a few pounds of marijuana. There are also documented incidences, and far too many of them, of people who were sent to death row, when police, prosecuter, and judge all knew that the person was innocent. But the public wants results, and assurances that they'll be safe, even if those assurances are false. I also have sadistic tendencies. I can think of no worse punishment than to be forever locked up, never free, in a prison This is why I am against the death penalty.
Ultimately, I am for the death penalty, but against the circumstances and systm under which this punishment is currently carried out in this country. I am of the personal opinion that a great deal of crime could be prevented by better education at the youth level, and that the first goal of a prison should be to rehabilitate; the second goal to keep the inmates out of soceity until they can at least interact with others in a non-violent way.
-sigh- Whateveer happened to polite, open-minded debate? I think that I'll be doing more of these types of posts over the next few weeks/months. If nothing else, it'll be a good mental excercise for me. Feel free to link to any of them as they come out; the whole point here is a starting point for polite, open-minded debate. I want to try and get people to think about the reasons that they are for or against something, and to help folks to see and understand both sides of an issue.
That, and I'm giving serious consideration to sending these off to Congresspeople, Senators, and the President.
