- January 6th, 2007, 1:06 pm
#50723
I'm for capital punishment, but only as a last resort. I feel that it should be for the criminals who have gone above and beyond the normal standards of criminal behavior (such as stories of people who are sociopaths to the point where they could nearly kill someone and then eat a cheeseburger in their victim's cars, with the victim groaning in the background, before finally leaving them to die). I believe that all prisoners need to face hard labor, not just the ritzy accomodations they get these days.
I support capital punishment for one main reason: there must always be a greater punishment. What happens when someone is sentenced to life in solitary confinement, but somehow manages to escape and kill a guard? If there's no capital punishment, how can you punish him further for that?
I know that people will say "it's not a deterrent", but so what. The Supreme Court ruled that it's not supposed to be a deterrent, but an actual punishment.
As for the Biblical aspects (how can a Christian society put someone to death), well, read Romans 13, and pay special attention to Romans 13:4
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
That said, these are a few changes that I would make to our capital punishment system:
1) From the moment the initial sentence is handed down, you have a maximum of five years for your appeals to be heard. Once the final appeal is denied, the state has one year to carry out the execution.
2) The criminal doesn't get to know when his execution date is until they knock on his door to take him to ole' sparky. That's right, the criminal doesn't know when his last day on the earth will be... just like their victim. This is the way they do it in Japan.
3) The costs to the state of the execution (parts and labor) are levied on the criminal's family. China may or may not have this policy still, they call it the "bullet fee". Basically, the criminal's family has to pay for the cost of the bullet the State needs to execute the criminal.
4) All criminals on death row are supplied with a six-foot long rope. They can feel free to do whatever they want with that rope.
5) If a criminal takes his or her own life before the date of his execution, his family is reimbursed for what the State would have spent on parts and labor. This is essentially what they did in ancient Rome (anyone ever see Godfather Part II?)
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