I wish we were civilised people living in a decent world. In such a world the death penalty would be indecent, vulgar, immoral and inappropriate. In fact, in my world, and how I live, that's true. However, there are sick, heinous people who prey on society. Do serial killers who have also raped and tortured people and children deserve to be accomodated at our expense for the rest of their lives - a reward for butchering our companions?
It seems logical to me to have some deterrant in a would-be perpetrators mind. Example, a burglar finds himself in a bedroom occupied by a couple. He can run away and leave, or he can rape and murder. If there is a penalty attached to the latter, he might think twice. How many hundreds of thousands of lives are potentially saved by this 'thought deterant'? In South Africa, we are crazy to treat some of the most uncivilised and brutal criminals with such moral decency. It's a joke.
"I'd consider it to be a tragedy to give ourselves a birthday present after 50 years of returning to the barbarous imposition of the death penalty on anybody," Smith said.
Chenault said he considers the death penalty a tool to ensure that the worst criminals never have an opportunity to re-offend.
"While I don't believe personally that it is a deterrent, I believe it should be an option for the justice system to brandish before the most heinous and unremorseful criminals in our society," he said.
Critics of the death penalty say it is costly, ineffective and discriminatory.
Juneau resident Bill Pelke, with Alaskans Against the Death Penalty, pointed to statistics that say more than 130 people in the U.S. have been sentenced to death since 1976 for crimes they did not commit.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment