G.K. Chesterton once said that when you vote, you are putting on the uniform of every official, soldier, or executioner who will perform grim actions on behalf of the public. Thus, in a democratic republic, when you pull the lever, you are taking responsibility for every life that might be taken by and for the state.
Here is the first newspaper editorial I've ever seen which echoes that thought, and it appears not in The Boston Globe or The New York Times but The Birmingham News:
'At one time, Alabama executed Death Row inmates at midnight in a contraption straight out of a horror movie: Yellow Mama, the state's electric chair. Even when Yellow Mama worked right, it burned and disfigured inmates; when it didn't, flame erupted from electrodes, smoke billowed from under the hood covering an inmate's head and the stench of burning flesh seeped into the witness room. Now, the state straps inmates to a gurney at 6 p.m. and injects a poison cocktail into their veins that kills them.
'These days, the killing is less gruesome. But the tidier dispatching of Death Row inmates cannot mask this truth: It is still taking a life. And it's not just the state of Alabama killing them. It is the state killing them on behalf of all its citizens. Grantt Culliver, who as the warden of Holman Correctional Facility is the state's executioner, sums up this point best in discussing how he views carrying out executions.
'"I look at it as part of the job," Culliver said. "The people of the state of Alabama, because of the way the laws are written, are as responsible as I am. I am the pawn or tool. The responsibility lies with the people of Alabama."'
You should not support the death penalty unless you are willing to administer the lethal injection yourself.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
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3 comments:
I am fundamentally pro-death penalty. My only reservation is the possibility of innocent people being convicted of murder. I do believe that the advantages of capital punishment are far greater than the cost of not having it available. I think that even one wrongfully executed prisoner is one too many. This is unnecesary "collateral damage" which should be kept to a minimum. There will always be mistaken verdicts, but in death penalty cases there are always multiple appeals. This keeps the wrongful conviction rate very low, and as bad as it sounds, the benefits of the death penalty far outweigh the cost of tossing it.
I have one other post on the death penalty, Dec. 19, 2005.
The question is: Should just war have a similar rationale (ultimately, self-defense) as the death penalty?
Yes, we are all responsible, as a society. And, as it should be in a Democratic/Republic, the voters should put this personal issue in their choice as they vote. However, balancing that choice with the myriad of other needs, wants, and issues facing us, it becomes a difficult task to focus on just one issue.
Personally, I believe the death penalty is justified and should be kept as an option. I have no problem with the appeals process, to help ensure that the judgement is carried out with proper assurance that the person being killed deserves the punishment.
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