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Death Penalty
In other news, I see that the Catholic church has started a campaign against the death penalty in the US. I have to say, I applaud this. Nothing drives me crazier than hypocrisy and the way this administration and particularly its executive officer proclaim their desire for a "culture of life" while still supporting the death penalty (and, uh, war) is just hypocrisy in action. So, I'm glad to see that some people are thinking clearly.
I have to say, I'm not morally against the death penalty, per se. I have no problem permanently removing a true threat to society. If there's a spider in my kid's bedroom, I kill it. The spiders were here first, and it's just minding its own business, but I can't take the chance that it might bite them. It poses a threat, and I remove it, with a little remorse, but the choice is clear.
Similarly, if a dog has a history of attacking humans, we put it down. If a tiger develops a taste for human flesh, we kill it. It poses a true threat to society and needs to be removed. You could fly it to Borneo or something, but I don't think we owe it anything.
Now, turn your sights on the BTK killer. Here's a guy who has admitted to 10 tortuous killings. He is clearly a threat to society. We could ship him off to jail and lock him up for the rest of his life, but I don't think we owe him that. I have no problem with putting this guy down.
So, I think it's clear where I stand on the moral issue. But, I'm still opposed to the death penalty as it's exercised in this country. The truth of the matter is, the state has executed innocent people. Well, they may have broken some law somewhere, but they were innocent of the crime for which they were executed, and I can't imagine what it would be like to have your life taken from you simply because of some sort of clerical error, some odd coincidence, some scheming revenge-seeker, some biased witness, some hapless attorney.
And it's not just one. Over and over again we keep seeing these guys who've been on death row for years exonerated by new evidence, DNA evidence that didn't exist when they were tried.
I can't abide by that.
And since it's not likely, given the human condition, that we're going to get better at trying these people, the only solution is to eliminate it all together. At that point, I'd rather keep them all alive than murder another innocent man.
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A comment:
I've been opposed to the death penalty for a while. I just don't like the state that represents me being in the killing business.
I don't believe that the death penalty is a deterrent. Most people who commit those crimes already can't associate action with consequence. So threatening to KILL them instead of imprisoning them for life doesn't motivate them NOT to kill.
Once you accept that it's not a deterrent, then the death penalty is simply a mechanism for revenge. Revenge accomplishes nothing. I'm not too interested in feeding someone's bloodlust, no matter how victimized they have been. That's not something I want the state actively to be encouraging.
Now, add in that people on death row have been released after DNA evidence proved them innocent, and you realize that by supporting the death penalty, you are sanctioning the killing of innocent people for no gain. No one but a psychopath likes the idea of that.
The Catholic Church has always been against the death penalty, as far as I know. I'd say they are pretty consistent on their position.
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