Today, Johnny Ray Conner was put to death by the State of Texas. Conner marks the 400th inmate to be executed since 1976 when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume. Three more are scheduled for next week.
A recent acquaintance of mine and I were talking and she indicated that she was against the death penalty. She is an admitted liberal. I don't personally share her viewpoint. I struggle a bit with the moralistic side of the equation, but I completely agree with the philosophy behind it.
My father was telling me that one guy was proposing that if you are against the death penalty that you could "sign up" to make sure that if anyone ever committed a capital offense and you were the victim, that the state would fore go the death penalty based on your personal beliefs. I don't think that is a 1/2 bad idea. I think that we could do apply this same type of "put your money where your mouth is" behavior to a lot of different ideas.
Anyway, I'm tired....outta here!
5 comments:
That's a great idea....in fact, let's apply that to other crimes. Let's say that a gal is convicted of prostitution. I would be willing to sign a list stating that if I am ever her "victim", that I agree that she shouldn't go to jail.
hmmm....
In reality though, I think it comes down to whether or not we feel it is ever justified to take a human life for any reason.
If you believe that we are born innocent and gradually prove our value to society then you might say that capital punishment is wrong but abortion is okay. You're saying that the criminal adult is worth more than the fetus.
If you believe that humans are born with an inherent value, then you might say that capital punishment is wrong and abortion is wrong. You're saying that the criminal and the fetus both have value to society.
If you believe that humans are born innocent but are capable of earning a negative human value, then you might say that abortion is wrong and capital punishment is okay. You're saying that the innocent fetus is worth more than a proven criminal.
It's pretty clear cut; you just have to decide what you believe our human condition is. Abortion and Capital Punishement are intertwined: they both take a human life. Figure out where you stand on one will should show you where to stand on the other.
Google 'capital punishment in the bible'. It's interesting reading.
Lets ride.
Philip
Some very good comments. I don’t quite agree with the first one, as the idea is not that a criminal wouldn’t get tried for murder, but that the death penalty could not be imposed. It’s obviously a pipe-dream, theoretical scenario.
I like Bling’s! second comments and it really makes you think about where you stand, and why.
Personally? I’m a hard-ass, and certainly not a die-hard Christian. I don’t believe a fetus is a living being until such a time as there is defined brainwave activity that is reactionary based. Therefore I don’t have a problem with abortions because I do not believe that they are an independent life form. Likewise, I don’t have a problem executing criminals because I feel these people are not only useless to society, but also a burden to society as well as threat to a peaceful society.
As I said in my post this all goes against my belief that we, as human beings, do not have the right to take another life even though it makes logical sense to me.
Ultimately, all of a person's feelings and emotions have a reason for being there. Many people love their parents and transfer some of that respect and love to the beliefs that their parents espoused, even though they may not make sense. Understanding the source of belief does not invalidate belief, but instead either strengthens resolve or allows for growth in a new direction. Figure out why taking a life is abhorent to you, and you may find justification to change your opinion or find a way to reinforce it.
For myself, I am against the death penalty as punishment. However, I do realize that persons that commit heinous crimes can be so mentally ill that there is no treatment. In this case, much like a rabid dog, the criminal must be killed for the protection of society and to prevent suffering of the convict. (life trapped in a warped mind is suffering; I wouldn't want it)
In the case of abortion, I believe that all other support must be tried first. However, we have to realize that to force an adolescent to raise a baby is an extreme burden and hardship for which they are unprepared. This hardship frequently causes lifelong poverty and isolation. This is an immense cost to the girl that is often overlooked for the sake of a child: a child that has more than even chances of becoming a burden on society itself. So, once again, we come to the balance: does the value of a potential human outweigh the almost certain cost to a existing human PLUS the potential cost of the future criminal?
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