Death Penalty

Thanks to Brandon for this topic.

Gandhi once said "An eye for an eye and everyone is blind." As we look at the death penalty, we see a form of vengeance for particularly heinous crimes committed against others in our society.

Please don't think I am pacifistic in any sense, I believe that we should fight for what we believe in. However, I do question the legitimacy of having a criminal sanction that ends the life of another human being. Some would argue, that it is being used as a deterrent to outrageous criminal behavior. Which, some studies have clearly shown to be effective. Yet, we do this to what end?

I know that if someone were to murder my mother or my niece, I'm sure my gut instinct would be to see revenge, seek for them to be murdered as well. Lets face it, lethal injection (the preferred method) is basically a painless medical procedure, just like putting an animal to sleep. I would probably want the most painful thing to happen to them, just to atone for the horror they've added to my life. Then I think, what good does that do? I would sit here and suffer knowing that someone that close to me was murdered in cold blood. In a sadistic sense, they should sit in prison and think about what they did for the rest of their lives. Live through the days of no meaning, and live with the guilt that they took the life of another human being.

This is clearly a contentious subject, no less than that of abortion and gay marriage, but I think it's important to open a dialogue to a greater understanding of views. We must agree to disagree on some senses, and most political and religious based thoughts will end up that way.

Thoughts?

M