Maybe because where I came from there's no death penalty, maybe because I've dealt with death too often, maybe... maybe I just cannot understand the concept of willingly take a (human) life and be an avid supporter of it. Or maybe I am the one "blind" to it?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Lex talionis
Due to some controversy currently being discussed about the "best" method for lethal injections, I have been having some interesting discussions with some friends and colleagues. Most of them have left me speechless as I've found that 95% of the them are in agreement with death penalty. All of our discussions have been ending inconclusive. Arguments back and forth; scientific facts thrown in different directions; physiological pain discussed; emotions at their highest!! Normally it ends with them saying "An eye for an eye."
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3 comments:
I have mixed feelings about death penalty. I used to say I was against death penalty. That was just because I would much rather have the criminals suffer in prison for the rest of their days. I considered death way too easy compared to life in prison. But that was before prisons became 'politically correct hotels'. So now I'm balanced between yes and no. Not because I advocate an eye for an eye (even though I really like Nick Cave's The Mercy Seat lyrics, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and anyway I told the truth, and I'm not afraid to die). No, my reasoning is for the extremes:
- in the sense that some so-called human beings are NOT human beings, they are monsters. They are. Should a serial killer be allowed to live? Should they get the bonus of life? Spending the rest of their days in prison, where they can study whatever subject interests them, do a photography workshop, learn new skills, be interviewed by Larry King, write their memoirs ... hello?! What about the 35 people they tortured, violated, tortured again, finally cut in pieces, kept in the fridge, taking pleasure out of it all? For those extreme cases, I guess I'm all for death penalty. Besides, prisons are expensive ... should tax-payers money be used to sustain such monsters?
- however, there are a couple of reasons why I'll be forever balanced between yes/no. One of the reasons is the probability of error, that an innocent person can be sentenced to death or to life in prison. The other reason is that I don't pretend that myself or anyone else has the power or ability to decide what's extreme and what's not. So, who am I to say that a psychological freak serial killer monster deserves death and a rapist doesn't? who defines the frontiers? I don't know ...
... and another reason might be because I'm a Gemini and I have a lot of trouble choosing between black or white and always tend to dwell in the grey area or play devil's advocate ... pois, deve ser mais por esta razão!
Dear Sinapse-
Always with a great insight - even if to play devil’s advocate or just being a Gemini heheh. Yes, Nick Cave lyrics is just great :) I must admit that death penalty is a sensitive issue, and far from being so black and white. Rationally, I have a hard time to accept death penalty as a choice, a power of the people to decide one’s life. Emotionally, I can see myself accepting death penalty when facing the fact that innocent people died just because someone had a need to do it.
Now, there are a couple aspects that I would like to note (I will try to be as concise as possible):
- Prisons are (supposedly!) places for rehabilitation those that commit crimes. Where things went wrong I am not sure, but they are far from doing their job. Education in prison should be seen as process of rehabilitation rather than freedom to learn a topic. Does that work? No, prisons are not working as they should;
- Any legal decision (e.g., life in prison, death penalty, etc) should be a mean to prevent future crime. Is death penalty being really effective in preventing future serial killers, rapists, or whatever else you want to call them? I don’t believe so, but do not have the facts;
- Economically, death penalty might not be as effective as one might think. The cost associated with an inmate in the death row can surpass the cost of an inmate with life in prison. Naturally, the conditions are dependent on type of security that a life in prison inmate requires. Studies have diverged in such perspective as primarily one side or the other has conducted them, and few independent studies truly exist. They are coming approximately the same for the tax-payer;
- If we go back in time, we will see that our origins are related with aggressiveness, cannibalism, murder, etc. We have always evolved from killing, as a measure of power and control, basically the desire of dominance over others. What have changed along the years were society rules – what is socially accepted – and not our tendencies. The extremes were well accepted in societies before; we have just changed what is accepted – for crime and punishment. Thus, some societies with death penalty try to find the less painful method for it, others can stone you to death as morally accepted. These differences are present on our days;
- This said, I would not like to believe that someone “sane” would enthusiastically murder 30 people, slice and dice them, and who knows eat them. Many of the serial killers have psycho-sociological disorder(s) that may trigger them into such actions. Is this an excuse? Definitely not, but they are a consequence of society and at some point in time something went (terrible) wrong;
- Then we have, as you said, the probability of error. Some of that has been coming to light with some prisoners being released. I believe that there was one that they executed him and after some years they found he was innocent;
- Finally, I am no one to decide who lives or not. Maybe in one case I wish the death penalty. I guess in that case what I really wish was that I could put my hands on him :)
Anyway, it is really hard to have a set perspective in such a complex topic. This becomes even worse when it is personal. However, I do lean towards to life in prison rather than death penalty, particularly if prisons would change.
De acordo na maioria dos pontos. Mas ainda assim, continuo na grey area ...
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