“Capital Punishment-A “Dead” Issue”
Does capital punishment deter criminals from killing people? The only realistic answer is “No,” it does not. Is capital punishment “cruel or unusual” punishment? The “death penalty” is certainly not unusual because it has been used since humans began to organize themselves into societies and decided that violations of laws needed to be punished appropriately. The decision early on that “killing a killer” was appropriate punishment was made. As to whether the death penalty is “cruel” depends on the method, doesn't it? Anything which is nearly “instant” and “painless” is not cruel in that respect. Hanging, unless the body falls exactly right, snapping the neck and spinal cord so that death is quick, might be okay, but I doubt that it works perfectly every time. Not having seen a hanging, I can only speculate as to my feelings, but my gut reaction is that this is a cruel method. Similarly, I feel that the “electric chair” is also painful and not instant; therefore, I don't think that it is an appropriate form of capital punishment. It is my understanding that a firing squad is, if done by experts, not painful and nearly instant. “Lethal injection” should be the method which prevents pain and suffering for the criminal. Unfortunately, there have been numerous incidents in which ineffective chemicals and incompetent officials have led to rather “inhumane” executions in this country.
That being said, I am opposed to capital punishment, not for the aforementioned reasons but for a simpler one. Too many convicted criminals have spent years in prison for crimes that they never committed. Whether it is honest errors or intentional acts by law enforcement officials or the courts or juries, it should never happen. I believe that society, through its criminal justice system, has the right to segregate dangerous people from the public. Is it an expensive process? Yes, it is. However, it is the price that we pay to protect ourselves from those who cannot peacefully live among the rest of us. It would be nice if we could just exile them to an island somewhere so that they never walk among us again. Well, in a perfect world there would be no crime, no murder, and no need to have law enforcement. We don't live in that world.
What I would like to see happen is two things. First, all convicted felons who have been sentenced to life sentences (or those long enough to substantially be until they die) should be given the option, at any time during their sentences, of a voluntary death (euthanasia, in effect). They should even be given a choice of several methods, each of which would be done in such a way that the convict would actually be the person who “pulls the plug,” so-to-speak. That would not be difficult to arrange, considering our technology. Certainly there are those who would make such a choice. By refusing this option, society is simply “cutting off its nose to spite its face” since the longer that a prisoner lives, the more it costs society for free room and board and medical care.
Unless there is 100% certainty as to guilt in a capital offense, society should not be using the ultimate punishment. That is cruel! We are better than that.
Robert Butler
P.O. Box 193
Marmaduke, AR 72443
