Another execution has taken place in our country.
The facts of the case are lost amongst the emotions elicited but this remains true : when a person intentionally takes the life of another out of murderous desire, it is just and right that his punishment be the loss of his own life. Capitol punishment has a place in civilized society. The absence of it shows that a society has cheapened the value of life.
All sorts of arguments have been put forth in the last 24 hours. News programs have brought in families of murder victims not even related to this case to share their opinions. A special favorite are those who are now opposed to execution because it didn't bring closure in their own circumstance.
But the death penalty is not about closure.
Remember the 1999 movie, 'The Mummy'? The trouble centered around a curse so powerful that it was revered and used only on the worse of people as a testament to their earthly judgment and eternal punishment. Of course this is fantasy, but in reality when ranking crimes with their respective punishments, there has to be one that is reserved for the most heinous offenses. Something that makes us shudder when we revert to it.
A man kills in cold blood.
It is premeditated. It is malicious. It is violent.
We judge the case by the evidence and find him guilty. If this same man was convicted of, say, embezzling a million dollars and then twenty years later he comes back with a change of heart and returns the money plus interest, one could determine that the debt to society has been paid. He can still go to jail, but retribution has been made. What can be given in exchange for a life taken? Of course an executed murderer cannot bring his victim back, but it is the only retribution. Mercy would mean exile, but justice demands his life.
One can never find closure to death. The death of a loved one is not something that you get over; it is a loss you learn to live with. The loss of an aged grandparent who passes away peacefully in their sleep cannot find closure, how then does one expect to find closure when a loved on is brutally murdered in their youth or prime? This is a futile search. Abolishing the death penalty won't work either. The criminal cannot become the victim and no amount of good he does can change the fact of what happened. So what must we do?
When the death sentence is passed, it is not time to rejoice in the streets, but a time to mourn that there is still an element in our society that demands justice. When a criminal is executed, we must mourn because there is a hole left the human family that can never be repaired. A rip that started with the life of an innocent and is torn with the sentence of the guilty. And this tattered fabric must be worn in rememberance.
The facts of the case are lost amongst the emotions elicited but this remains true : when a person intentionally takes the life of another out of murderous desire, it is just and right that his punishment be the loss of his own life. Capitol punishment has a place in civilized society. The absence of it shows that a society has cheapened the value of life.
All sorts of arguments have been put forth in the last 24 hours. News programs have brought in families of murder victims not even related to this case to share their opinions. A special favorite are those who are now opposed to execution because it didn't bring closure in their own circumstance.
But the death penalty is not about closure.
Remember the 1999 movie, 'The Mummy'? The trouble centered around a curse so powerful that it was revered and used only on the worse of people as a testament to their earthly judgment and eternal punishment. Of course this is fantasy, but in reality when ranking crimes with their respective punishments, there has to be one that is reserved for the most heinous offenses. Something that makes us shudder when we revert to it.
A man kills in cold blood.
It is premeditated. It is malicious. It is violent.
We judge the case by the evidence and find him guilty. If this same man was convicted of, say, embezzling a million dollars and then twenty years later he comes back with a change of heart and returns the money plus interest, one could determine that the debt to society has been paid. He can still go to jail, but retribution has been made. What can be given in exchange for a life taken? Of course an executed murderer cannot bring his victim back, but it is the only retribution. Mercy would mean exile, but justice demands his life.
One can never find closure to death. The death of a loved one is not something that you get over; it is a loss you learn to live with. The loss of an aged grandparent who passes away peacefully in their sleep cannot find closure, how then does one expect to find closure when a loved on is brutally murdered in their youth or prime? This is a futile search. Abolishing the death penalty won't work either. The criminal cannot become the victim and no amount of good he does can change the fact of what happened. So what must we do?
When the death sentence is passed, it is not time to rejoice in the streets, but a time to mourn that there is still an element in our society that demands justice. When a criminal is executed, we must mourn because there is a hole left the human family that can never be repaired. A rip that started with the life of an innocent and is torn with the sentence of the guilty. And this tattered fabric must be worn in rememberance.
posted by Colie Clark at 8:03 AM
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