Don't Kill Me, I'm a Human Being
3:58 PM
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Capital Punishment,
Culture,
Death,
Evil,
Humanity,
School,
Violence
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0
finders
Death is one of the biggest fears in life. There aren’t many people who want to die, at least not naturally. Humans are meant to live out a fulfilling life on this planet for a tiny speck in time whether we do good or bad. Death is never the answer to anything. Humans have no need to kill each other, yet we do it quite often in wars and crime. There are people out there who will do anything they can to get what they want, even if it’s to kill one of our own. We are a brutal race. Those who commit murder are often portrayed as the scum of the earth. They take a life; a loss of someone’s love; a loss of hope; but also a gaining of anger. The darkest, deepest, saddest, and most evil emotions come out of those who are affected, especially revenge. There’s a dire urge to place the same act of the victim’s murder onto the criminal; an eye for an eye as it’s known, but is it right? Do these awful people deserve to be murdered for the brutal crimes that they commit? Is that the right punishment?
Being sided against capital punishment, I am surely in the minority, at least in the United States. In fact, the United States is one of only two developed nations (the other being Japan) in the world that still allows the death penalty. It’s like we are on the same level of many third world nations where barbaric practices are still the norm. However, not every state within our nation approves of such a practice. There are only thirty-six states that currently still allow it, Texas with the most at well over 400 killings as of Summer 2008 while the other states deem it as unconstitutional. Still, that’s the majority of the country. I don’t see why so many Americans can approve of such practice, and coming from a nation that finds “cruel and unusual punishment” unconstitutional too! Since when is killing another human being not considered “cruel and unusual?”
You can lock up these criminals for life for all I care; that’s what I think people who commit these crimes deserve; at least it’s not murder. Many of those who are for the death penalty see the act of keeping these criminals in prison as a waste of taxpayer's money. There have been disputes from both sides as to whether or not keeping a murderer in jail for life is actually cheaper than the long process of putting these criminals to their death beds. I’m not sure what’s true, but either way, I don’t think it’s right to determine the fate of a human life over what is cheaper.
One of the scary chances of going with the death penalty has always been the question, “what happens if the criminal is innocent?” Hundreds of people over the years have been sentenced to death to only later to be found innocent. Even worse, it has been proven that twenty-three people since 1900 have had their punishment fully carried out and have been found innocent sometime after they were executed. There are probably even more than twenty-three cases of such incidents, they were just not accounted for. There’s nothing worse than the killing of an innocent human being. Once a person is dead, there’s no way of undoing the mistake. At least with a criminal behind bars, if they are later found to be innocent, they could be released and live on with their life. It just goes to show that there’s an error rate in who is granted a death sentence. What happens if you were in that position? Many just don’t see that because they know the chances are very slim, but there’s still is a chance. Even if I was for the death penalty to those who commit serious murderous crimes, the chances of killing even one innocent victim is not worth it. It’s scary.
To place death on murderers only brings us down to the same level of morality as those who commit these horrid crimes. It’s an act of revenge. In fact, it’s the highest act of revenge made possible. As someone once said, two wrongs don’t make a right. No matter what any human can do, no matter how cruel the act may be, no one deserves to die. It’s morally wrong. I’m not saying these criminals don’t deserve to be punished; they do, but death is above and beyond what is necessary. There are other ways to deal with these people, but all that many can see is capital punishment and nothing else.
I know many people out there are very much against what I and many of those who are for capital punishment must think and why they choose it. Many get so angry about anything that causes pain in their life, and whoever is at fault, they gear that anger to. I know it must be hurtful to hear about people murdering other people, especially if there’s a deep and close connection to the victim. Many of those who go through that pain get so emotionally built-up that they just want to see the problem go away, but they seem to forget that the problem is another human being. A murderous crime (or any other serious crime that might warrant a death penalty sentence) that one commits makes that person a “lowest of lows”, a “thing” as it may be, to those are are affected by it and show a tremendous loss and great pain. All they just want to see is that “thing” thrown away and never to be seen again, but that “thing” is a real life human being. Although that human being committed a serious crime, that “thing” is still a human being! It’s just wrong to kill another human, no matter what the crime. It is wrong!
Despite what I think about the death penalty, I can see why many people are for it, but I just can’t help but see my views coming into play and not fully seeing what they’re seeing. When pain comes into our lives, many will do whatever it takes to get rid of it. But to me, I don’t see how killing someone afterwards because of a murderous act they commit takes away any of that pain. The crime has already taken place, and by killing these criminals because of what they did solves nothing. It’s an act of revenge, but not everyone has the same views on revenge. It comes down to each individual’s morals and views, as with any issue. In a perfect world, these serious crimes would never be committed and there would be no reason to ever consider such a punishment, but sadly, that world doesn’t exist. Even so, I still think it’s morally wrong to kill any human being for any reason. We should be able to handle these serious issues in a much more humane, thoughtful, and to me, right way. No to capital punishment.
✘ Brian
Being sided against capital punishment, I am surely in the minority, at least in the United States. In fact, the United States is one of only two developed nations (the other being Japan) in the world that still allows the death penalty. It’s like we are on the same level of many third world nations where barbaric practices are still the norm. However, not every state within our nation approves of such a practice. There are only thirty-six states that currently still allow it, Texas with the most at well over 400 killings as of Summer 2008 while the other states deem it as unconstitutional. Still, that’s the majority of the country. I don’t see why so many Americans can approve of such practice, and coming from a nation that finds “cruel and unusual punishment” unconstitutional too! Since when is killing another human being not considered “cruel and unusual?”
You can lock up these criminals for life for all I care; that’s what I think people who commit these crimes deserve; at least it’s not murder. Many of those who are for the death penalty see the act of keeping these criminals in prison as a waste of taxpayer's money. There have been disputes from both sides as to whether or not keeping a murderer in jail for life is actually cheaper than the long process of putting these criminals to their death beds. I’m not sure what’s true, but either way, I don’t think it’s right to determine the fate of a human life over what is cheaper.
One of the scary chances of going with the death penalty has always been the question, “what happens if the criminal is innocent?” Hundreds of people over the years have been sentenced to death to only later to be found innocent. Even worse, it has been proven that twenty-three people since 1900 have had their punishment fully carried out and have been found innocent sometime after they were executed. There are probably even more than twenty-three cases of such incidents, they were just not accounted for. There’s nothing worse than the killing of an innocent human being. Once a person is dead, there’s no way of undoing the mistake. At least with a criminal behind bars, if they are later found to be innocent, they could be released and live on with their life. It just goes to show that there’s an error rate in who is granted a death sentence. What happens if you were in that position? Many just don’t see that because they know the chances are very slim, but there’s still is a chance. Even if I was for the death penalty to those who commit serious murderous crimes, the chances of killing even one innocent victim is not worth it. It’s scary.
To place death on murderers only brings us down to the same level of morality as those who commit these horrid crimes. It’s an act of revenge. In fact, it’s the highest act of revenge made possible. As someone once said, two wrongs don’t make a right. No matter what any human can do, no matter how cruel the act may be, no one deserves to die. It’s morally wrong. I’m not saying these criminals don’t deserve to be punished; they do, but death is above and beyond what is necessary. There are other ways to deal with these people, but all that many can see is capital punishment and nothing else.
I know many people out there are very much against what I and many of those who are for capital punishment must think and why they choose it. Many get so angry about anything that causes pain in their life, and whoever is at fault, they gear that anger to. I know it must be hurtful to hear about people murdering other people, especially if there’s a deep and close connection to the victim. Many of those who go through that pain get so emotionally built-up that they just want to see the problem go away, but they seem to forget that the problem is another human being. A murderous crime (or any other serious crime that might warrant a death penalty sentence) that one commits makes that person a “lowest of lows”, a “thing” as it may be, to those are are affected by it and show a tremendous loss and great pain. All they just want to see is that “thing” thrown away and never to be seen again, but that “thing” is a real life human being. Although that human being committed a serious crime, that “thing” is still a human being! It’s just wrong to kill another human, no matter what the crime. It is wrong!
Despite what I think about the death penalty, I can see why many people are for it, but I just can’t help but see my views coming into play and not fully seeing what they’re seeing. When pain comes into our lives, many will do whatever it takes to get rid of it. But to me, I don’t see how killing someone afterwards because of a murderous act they commit takes away any of that pain. The crime has already taken place, and by killing these criminals because of what they did solves nothing. It’s an act of revenge, but not everyone has the same views on revenge. It comes down to each individual’s morals and views, as with any issue. In a perfect world, these serious crimes would never be committed and there would be no reason to ever consider such a punishment, but sadly, that world doesn’t exist. Even so, I still think it’s morally wrong to kill any human being for any reason. We should be able to handle these serious issues in a much more humane, thoughtful, and to me, right way. No to capital punishment.
✘ Brian
