Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE DEATH PENALTY. by Greg Slack
There are many among us that feel the death penalty is both cruel and barbaric, and not an effective crime deterrent. Others may feel it makes murderers of us as well, thinking that one is no more morally right than the other.
To that end I ask one simple question: what are our alternatives? What are our alternatives when prisons are overcrowded, funding for the correctional systems are overstretched, and finding places for new prisons becomes more and more difficult?
And to those that take the moral high ground I ask: Who can take any moral high ground in today's society? We have wars, ethnic cleansing, child labor, and vast numbers of atrocities taking place all over the world, and all the while those that can and should do something, do nothing. Religious leaders are often sexual deviants; governments are in many cases corrupt, and truth and integrity in the media and advertising no longer exists unless it benefits their cause.
It's easy to stand outside of something and point its faults to the world. It's another thing entirely to be in the middle of it and see all that's wrong.
For instance, you grow up in a violent and poor section of a city. You are a decent law-abiding person, and have a family of three; you, your wife and son. Your son is killed in a drive-by shooting one day while walking home from school. They catch the person, and his guilt is undeniable, so he gets sentenced to death by the courts. Do you feel that person's life is a fair trade for the life of your son? No, of course not, your son was an innocent, just starting out in life and had done no wrong. But the killer was a lifetime criminal, convicted of many crimes of similar nature. So the life of that sociopath is no fair trade whatsoever.
Do you feel better about your son's death now that he will die too? Again, no you don't, not at all. Any decent human being would not feel justice was served. But you would have closure
There are many among us that feel the death penalty is both cruel and barbaric, and not an effective crime deterrent. Others may feel it makes murderers of us as well, thinking that one is no more morally right than the other.
To that end I ask one simple question: what are our alternatives? What are our alternatives when prisons are overcrowded, funding for the correctional systems are overstretched, and finding places for new prisons becomes more and more difficult?
And to those that take the moral high ground I ask: Who can take any moral high ground in today's society? We have wars, ethnic cleansing, child labor, and vast numbers of atrocities taking place all over the world, and all the while those that can and should do something, do nothing. Religious leaders are often sexual deviants; governments are in many cases corrupt, and truth and integrity in the media and advertising no longer exists unless it benefits their cause.
It's easy to stand outside of something and point its faults to the world. It's another thing entirely to be in the middle of it and see all that's wrong.
For instance, you grow up in a violent and poor section of a city. You are a decent law-abiding person, and have a family of three; you, your wife and son. Your son is killed in a drive-by shooting one day while walking home from school. They catch the person, and his guilt is undeniable, so he gets sentenced to death by the courts. Do you feel that person's life is a fair trade for the life of your son? No, of course not, your son was an innocent, just starting out in life and had done no wrong. But the killer was a lifetime criminal, convicted of many crimes of similar nature. So the life of that sociopath is no fair trade whatsoever.
Do you feel better about your son's death now that he will die too? Again, no you don't, not at all. Any decent human being would not feel justice was served. But you would have closure