Capital Punishment
I know I don't post much any more, but I liked this and felt the need to share.
I spent many years formulating my opnion on capital punishment. I was raised Republican and stayed that way until late in high school, when I became heavily Democrat. Even then, however, I still supported the death penalty. 'Eye for an eye' and all that. Early in college, pre-9/11, it began to weigh on me and I began to be uncertain about the whole concept. Ironically, it wasn't until post-9/11 that I started to reverse and begin to oppose the death penalty. These days, I almost completely oppose it, and have many reasons at the ready to explain why I feel so.
In any case, I have been having trouble lately communicating those reasons... and when I read this comic today, it fairly eloquently verbiated those beliefs... and since I firmly believe in stealing others' work, here it is:
New York Mayor Mitchell Hundred is defending himself to African-American radio personality Dre.
Hundred: "The death penalty is arbitrary and capricious, an anachronistic throwback that's looked upon with disgust by nearly every democracy in the world. Practically, it's way more expensive than life without parole, and morally, it's applied in a manner that's totally unfair to anyone who can't afford my lawyers. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that those convicted of killing whites are significantly more likely to be executed than those convicted of killing blacks."
Dre: "But you'd agree it's an effective deterrent against future crimes?"
Hundred: "No, I wouldn't. Murder rates often go up immediately following executions. We're sending a message to Americans that killing is the correct way to solve problems. Look, I realize we live in a culture where a story isn't satisfying unless the bad guy dies at the end, but unlike the movies, death really is permanent. How can we implement a decision that can't be overturned when we know how fallible our justice system -- how fallible we can be?"
Dre: "And Osama Bin Laden? If he were captured tomorrow, you'd argue to the families of his victims that he should live?"
...From here, the Mayor calls Dre a motherfucker, and the conversation degrades into a pissing match. I only included the last bit so as not to be accused of disclusion for the purpose of making my views shinier. The truth is, I don't know what I'd do in the case of Osama Bin Laden, or Hitler. They're exceptions, and I think they should be reevaluated by the principle of the rule. But I know what I feel under most circumstances, and that's what the Mayor elucidated above. I'm opposed.
Now, I'm posting this because it intrigues me, and I am opening it up for a limited amount of discussion, but I would like all participants to agree with me in that this is an issue that likely no one's about to change on... I'm probably not gonna, and I doubt you are, so please don't bother to bicker with me. I encourage some intelligent discussion, but if this journal becomes a battleground, I will react harshly.
Thank you.
I spent many years formulating my opnion on capital punishment. I was raised Republican and stayed that way until late in high school, when I became heavily Democrat. Even then, however, I still supported the death penalty. 'Eye for an eye' and all that. Early in college, pre-9/11, it began to weigh on me and I began to be uncertain about the whole concept. Ironically, it wasn't until post-9/11 that I started to reverse and begin to oppose the death penalty. These days, I almost completely oppose it, and have many reasons at the ready to explain why I feel so.
In any case, I have been having trouble lately communicating those reasons... and when I read this comic today, it fairly eloquently verbiated those beliefs... and since I firmly believe in stealing others' work, here it is:
New York Mayor Mitchell Hundred is defending himself to African-American radio personality Dre.
Hundred: "The death penalty is arbitrary and capricious, an anachronistic throwback that's looked upon with disgust by nearly every democracy in the world. Practically, it's way more expensive than life without parole, and morally, it's applied in a manner that's totally unfair to anyone who can't afford my lawyers. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that those convicted of killing whites are significantly more likely to be executed than those convicted of killing blacks."
Dre: "But you'd agree it's an effective deterrent against future crimes?"
Hundred: "No, I wouldn't. Murder rates often go up immediately following executions. We're sending a message to Americans that killing is the correct way to solve problems. Look, I realize we live in a culture where a story isn't satisfying unless the bad guy dies at the end, but unlike the movies, death really is permanent. How can we implement a decision that can't be overturned when we know how fallible our justice system -- how fallible we can be?"
Dre: "And Osama Bin Laden? If he were captured tomorrow, you'd argue to the families of his victims that he should live?"
...From here, the Mayor calls Dre a motherfucker, and the conversation degrades into a pissing match. I only included the last bit so as not to be accused of disclusion for the purpose of making my views shinier. The truth is, I don't know what I'd do in the case of Osama Bin Laden, or Hitler. They're exceptions, and I think they should be reevaluated by the principle of the rule. But I know what I feel under most circumstances, and that's what the Mayor elucidated above. I'm opposed.
Now, I'm posting this because it intrigues me, and I am opening it up for a limited amount of discussion, but I would like all participants to agree with me in that this is an issue that likely no one's about to change on... I'm probably not gonna, and I doubt you are, so please don't bother to bicker with me. I encourage some intelligent discussion, but if this journal becomes a battleground, I will react harshly.
Thank you.