Capital Punishment

The death penalty is one of the living embodiments of the old saying “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Many have battled in the favor of capital punishment and at the forefront of such defense is the claim of deterrence. Those who believe that deterrence justifies the execution of certain offenders bear the burden of proving that the death penalty is indeed a disincentive. Those who believe in the death penalty are seekers of retribution.Retribution is another word for revenge. Although our first instinct may be to inflict immediate pain on someone who wrongs us, the standards of a mature society demand a more measured response. We as a people,and as a nation need to learn the true meaning of forgiveness, or at least the definition of humanity.

We have come so far in the evolution of our country that we should see the thought of capital punishment as barbaric or vengeful. Many victims families denounce the use of the death penalty. Using an execution to try to right the wrong of their loss is an insult to them and only causes more pain. For example, Bud Welch's daughter, Julie, was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Although his first reaction was to wish that those who committed this terrible crime be killed, he ultimately realized that such killing "is simply vengeance; and it was vengeance that killed Julie.... Vengeance is a strong and natural emotion. But it has no place in our justice system."

In addition The death penalty alone imposes an irrevocable sentence. Once an inmate is executed, nothing can be done to make amends if a mistake has been made. The best example, in recent years, would be the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham in Texas. He was executed in 2004 for the murder by arson of his three little daughters. Unfortunately for him, the Texas Forensic Science Commission has determined, since his execution, that the Fire Marshall's testimony that the fire was an arson was based on "old wives tales and voodoo science" and that the fire was in fact an accidental fire that started in a faulty space heater. Not only was he not in fact guilty of the crime he was executed for, no crime was even committed. Ironically, the commission examined a virtually identical case a few months "before" Willingham's execution, and determined in that case that the same 'old wives tales' had been used to determine that that fire was an arson, and overturned the conviction.