To the times picayune about capital punishment:
I agree with Nancy Conway’s Feb. 13, 2013 Point of view “It’s time
to outlaw capital punishment.” I wish to make several points in addition to the
practical, religious and ethical arguments she provides. I believe simply that
killing is wrong. Criminal killing is wrong and the state-sanctioned killing is
wrong. Heinous criminals must be punished, but convicted murderers can be
locked away with minimal food, no visitors, etc, for the rest of their lives.
If we kill them, we are no better than criminals. The “eye for an eye” language
in the Bible comes from a time before there were prisons. The National Research Council of the National
Academies has concluded that no research supports a deterrent effect of the
death penalty on homicide. The death penalty serves
only to feed the human emotion of revenge. By condoning revenge, we perpetuate
violence in a world that is devolving into increasing senseless violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment