There are many logical reasons to remove the death penalty; it is irreversible, far more expensive than life imprisonment, ineffective as a deterrent and fraught with error. However, the most compelling reason for the death penalty is not easily reasoned with. No matter what convincing argument one can provide, it is always met with anger towards the person who caused one’s pain. This emotional response is perfectly understandable.

Still, I think we have forgotten the true purpose of the legal system. Throughout the Constitution, the idea of protecting the people is reverberated. It says that the purpose of the government to organize us, protecting us from violations of our civil liberties to crime. The government is also responsible for preventing people from enacting revenge with their own hands. The sole purpose of law enforcement is to retain order, deterring those who would or have committed a crime from doing it again, and imprisoning people incapable of living in a society.

It is naive to assume that this gets translated into reality. Often the emotions of a jury are appealed to in delivering a verdict, and often a judge sentences according to what he or she feels is appropriate “punishment.” Even laws are subjected to irrational and emotional judgment. Every human being feels the desire for revenge. It is a basal, instinctive emotion. However, revenge went out of favor about two thousand years ago. People began to believe that revenge is wrong, that it only incites a cycle of pain, hurting both the victim (spiritually) and the perpetrator. Most media, literature, and beliefs today in the United States reflect this anti-revenge stance. However, we seem to have a blissful separation between our ideals and our actions. We always clamor for revenge, for adequate punishment for criminal activity. Perhaps it is too idealist to ask humanity to “turn the other cheek.” But is it too idealist to ask of our government?

Although I cannot tell you what the founding fathers considered “cruel and unusual punishment,” I do know that the Constitution was created to protect all of the citizens of the United States. Nowhere does it say that the government is responsible for enacting revenge. I do not think that the founding fathers, nor most people living today, feel that revenge is an ideal we should aspire to. However, in everyday human interactions and in the courtroom, it is sometimes hard to control our anger and refrain from mild revenge. But should our laws not protect against the fallibility of man’s reason that comes with emotional distress? Should they not reflect the logical and idealist nature of our Constitution?