(no subject)

[zana16]

The death penalty is the make-it-or-break-it issue closest to my heart when it comes to political beliefs--Al Gore lost my vote (not that he cared; he was carrying Massachusetts anyways) when he announced himself pro-death penalty. So I read this article
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/national/ivins/story/10246240p-11166543c.html
mainly because of the quote at the beginning, but the whole thing is worth a quick read.

Comments

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I am pro-death penalty (in cases where the person has confessed) and I'd really like to hear why you're against it. I'm not trying to start a fight or say that you're wrong or whatever; I am really, honestly curious to hear your POV on the issue.

[zana16.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Complex answer.

There's the fact that there is no evidence that it works as a deterrent, there's the fact that it puts more of a monetary drain on the state to execute a prisoner than to hold him for life in prison, the fact that especially in Texas the system is corrupt and so heavily biased against the poor, there's the fact that blacks are executed in a much larger proportion than they commit murders.... but that's not really why.

It's two things, I guess. I'm tired of hearing people say, "If it were your husband/child/parent/etc...." as if revenge is the point of the justice system. Well, it was my sister, and killing the guy isn't going to bring her back or keep my family from being torn apart. And yes, there are times I want more than anything to kill him for hurting us so badly. But he's not a threat to society anymore, he won't be out of prison in this lifetime, and frankly being that angry at him is a stage that I've moved through and beyond. Being angry is fine and productive when you need someone to blame and that person really is to blame, but the way I hated him was getting too poisonous to me, and it wasn't like it was affecting him in any way. Forgiveness doesn't have to be warm and fuzzy, and it's not, but it helped me to heal. I never thought I could be so angry or hate anybody so much; I wasn't prepared for the sheer physical yearning to drive a knife into his chest; I wasn't comfortable with knowing that I was capable--and wanted--to kill somebody, when what had me so angry was the fact that he killed somebody close to me.

I guess the other reason, which I don't talk about so much, is about the way I see morality. I was raised by Quakers, but never in a specific religion, and Sartre is as close to an established moral philosophy that I get. I don't always believe in God but I believe in good and evil, I just don't believe in anyone who is purely good or purely evil.

That last paragraph is not completed because I tried to write out a long answer and realized that though I've found more words for it than I'd thought, I still don't have the right words yet. It's hard being a rationalist when I'm also a moralist; faith really can't be explained by reason, but I keep trying. It makes sense in my head, it's just I've never tried to talk about this part of it before, mostly because I hate being preached at and I don't want to project my moral philosophy onto anybody but myself. So when I figure out how to say that part of it, I'll let you know. :)

[carus-erus.livejournal.com]

I think I might go the Dr. Phil approach and counter with "How's the death penalty working out for you?" I mean, what does it actually do other than just kill another person? Satisfy revenge? And that does what exactly? I think I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum where I really don't understand the death penalty at all. It seems so irrational to base laws on anger or vengeance...

The comment about "what if it were your sister/brother/etc". Well yea, if it were I'd probably be so angrey that I'd want to kill the person personally. That doesn't mean I should be allowed to or that it's legal for anyone else to do. And I think in retrospect, I'm glad my (Canadian) legal system would prevent me or others from taking an action like that in anger.

Then again I'm not an eye for an eye kind of person. You read my post earlier why I felt Saddam Hussein, Milosovic, etc should be given nice cushy cells in the Hague and promptly forgotten by history.