The Immorality of the Death Penalty at Home andAbroad

by Liberalindependent28
Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 07:53:29 AM PDT

The death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment because it is state sanctioned murder that is immoral simply for that reason. When the state takes the life of a human being for a crime they committed we place our society on the same level of immorality. We must move to abolish the death penalty within the United States as well as abroad in other nations that continue to use it. Famous civil rights pioneer Mohandas Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind". Thus, to employ the death penalty as a means of revenge and to obtain justice really brings forth no justice except for more death. Instead of working towards redemption and forgiveness our society perpetuates violence both symbolically and literally by having the death penalty. The promotion of revenge with an 'eye for an eye' mentality is what continues the cycle of violence, hatred, and strife rather then disarming it.

Thus, we must continue to pressure our lawmakers at all levels of government in the United States to ensure the death penalty is abolished at the federal level. The moral implication for the continued use of the death penalty in the U.S. and abroad is powerfully negative. As the old adage goes, "two wrongs do not make a right". Are we attaining justice with the use of the death penalty, or simply justifying state sanctioned murder? Noted leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated, "The time has come to abolish the death penalty worldwide. It is a violation of fundamental human rights". Those who have committed crimes must indeed pay their debt to society by serving a reasonable jail sentence for the crime they committed. However, like Archbishop Tutu noted in the quote above, we destroy a basic human right to life and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment through the death penalty.

The death penalty will not bring back a murder victim to life because the state murdered the murderer. It is a cold hearted revenge that perpetuates retributive violence that gives the green light for people to seek revenge rather then forgiveness. Holocaust survivor and famous author Elie Wiesel once said: "With every cell in my being, and with every fibre of my memory, I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the Angel of Death". Thus, we garner theological and secular opposition to the use of the death penalty from a moral imperative. These famous leaders quoted here understand the broad moral implications that supporting the death penalty can denote. However, beyond the moral reasoning to abolish the death penalty, what other important reasons note the need for its elimination?


Source: Daily Kos: State of the Nation

What of the immorality of the person ON death row? Let us mention danielle simpson. He murdered a little old lady after he and his friends and family robbed her. They stole her car, kiddnapped her, put her tied up in the trunk of her car. Then they drove all over showing her off like some kind of trophy. She begged for water, her meds, food. They went to dinner using her money and denied her everything. Then they tied this helpless, defenseless old woman to a cinderblock and threw her off a bridge.
Now he is begging to be put to death so he can be OFF death row.

And want mercy for a monster like this?

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"I'm done with propagandists who are willing to use any issue - race, cost, deterrence - to spare murderers' lives. Their attempts to shame a country out of delivering justice are terrorism of the intellectual variety." Brian Hickey

"The right to bear arms is the right to be free."
A. E. Van Gogt
THe Weaponshop of Ishtar

Elric, what you describe is the difficulty to stay humanly to individuals who were not. In my eyes has it nothing to do with forgiveness or something like this, simply said do we (as the progressive society) have the better ethics. I really do believe that we are better than the criminal. We can evidence this.

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Do you like that kind of german folk music ?.

I really dont have an opinion on the DP. I can see why it would be necessary under certain cases, ie the DC Sniper.

I am sure if I had a family member murdered I wound definately be for it. I
would want to flip the switch myself.

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Just an FYI - We need to be accept that we will not all see eye to eye on this issue. No matter how many times it is debated those who believe in it will not become against it and those against it will not become for it.

You can debate the issue just don't make it personal.

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"No matter how many times it is debated those who believe in it will not become against it and those against it will not become for it."

Exactly. Everyone knows my stance, im going to open a few beers

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By Strength and Guile

From what i understand there are people on Death Row who have been on it for years and years. I believe this is because of appeals and the possibility of new evidence being uncovered etc.Of course there are terrible miscarriages of justice, In the U.K we used to have the death sentence, and some people were wrongly hanged.They can never be brought back.


But i have to think, if an inmate is on death row for years and years,after committing a horrible and shocking crime what about the victims,..?most of who i am sure never asked or deserved to have this happen to them.If it is found that the perpertrator, is guilty beyond any doubt,and they are put on death row they are still having those extra years of life their victim have never had.


"Average Time on Death Row prior to Execution:
10.26 years"

Death Row Facts

Want to share what i believe is a great last statement from a man who lived what we all comment about...........




Date of Execution:
May 28, 2002
Offender:
Napoleon Beazley #999141
Last Statement:

The act I committed to put me here was not just heinous, it was senseless. But the person that committed that act is no longer here - I am.

I'm not going to struggle physically against any restraints. I'm not going to shout, use profanity or make idle threats. Understand though that I'm not only upset, but I'm saddened by what is happening here tonight. I'm not only saddened, but disappointed that a system that is supposed to protect and uphold what is just and right can be so much like me when I made the same shameful mistake.

If someone tried to dispose of everyone here for participating in this killing, I'd scream a resounding, "No." I'd tell them to give them all the gift that they would not give me...and that's to give them all a second chance.

I'm sorry that I am here. I'm sorry that you're all here. I'm sorry that John Luttig died. And I'm sorry that it was something in me that caused all of this to happen to begin with.

Tonight we tell the world that there are no second chances in the eyes of justice...Tonight, we tell our children that in some instances, in some cases, killing is right.

This conflict hurts us all, there are no SIDES. The people who support this proceeding think this is justice. The people that think that I should live think that is justice. As difficult as it may seem, this is a clash of ideals, with both parties committed to what they feel is right. But who's wrong if in the end we're all victims?

In my heart, I have to believe that there is a peaceful compromise to our ideals. I don't mind if there are none for me, as long as there are for those who are yet to come. There are a lot of men like me on death row - good men - who fell to the same misguided emotions, but may not have recovered as I have.

Give those men a chance to do what's right. Give them a chance to undo their wrongs. A lot of them want to fix the mess they started, but don't know how. The problem is not in that people aren't willing to help them find out, but in the system telling them it won't matter anyway. No one wins tonight. No one gets closure. No one walks away victorious.

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The last of all freedoms is the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.
G. W. Allport.

That's a great post Smiley. Thank you! There will certainly always be issues that an agreement between both sides, such as the case with abortion and the death penalty, to name a few. And as perhaps the most politically conservative active member on this forum, many may find it odd that I am anti death penalty. A clear departure from the standard conservative ideology. I am not anti DP because of the potential of the innocent people who are put to death. I have seen a couple of "examples" of heinous crimes on this thread. I don't think that a law should ever be imposed or written off because of "examples". I beleive that a society must look at the issue, as a whole (not the indivudual parts). Not a very religious person, I hesitate to bring up the "God" factor, but Mother Teresa has a great quote which is "what you do to these men, you do to God." I beleive in that. For me, the issue is as simple as this: there is only ONE judge who decides the fate of man, and he isn't sitting in a black robe at the head of a court. No one has the right to take another persons life. And when someone DOES take anothers life, I find no moral justification in the "eye for an eye" rational. I beleive the death penalty legislates revenge, not justice. How is LWOP not just "enough"? I beleive that it is. Some actions cannot be undone, no matter how much someone wants to, be it the violator or the victim or the families of both. Often I hear from supporters of the DP "At least they get to sit in a cell with access to family and friends for years and then die a more humane death than their victims." That only prooves the point that the DP is about revenge.

A person's soul is worthy of second, third and beyond chances. It is a human life. As a society we should never give up on human life. While some people clearly need to be seperated from society until their last breath, their life still holds value, because I beleive that every life has value. I have heard so many stories, including my own, of the pen pals we all have. Some have endured hell on earth and still have changed their hearts, truly fought back from hell to transform their souls to become good hearted people. There is an amazing value in that. A transformation us "normal" folk probably will never truly understand. That kind of transformation may go unnoticed by everyone on this earth, but not the final judge who really counts.

Well, that's my two cents!

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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
~Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton

I do think this young man just 4 months away from being 18 when this crime was commited should not have recieved the DP myself. .




The link for those (long winded reading) of information for those who have not heard of him or this crime he was executed for. Worth reading though.


Napoleon Beazley #779

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