Friday, January 02, 2004

 

Some thoughts on crime and punishment
A while ago, over there somewhere in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was taken into custody. The President went onto TV and addressed the nation at least twice that I am aware of. In one of these addreses, he tacitly approved of the death penalty. This makes me think a bit. I heard him say it, and I guess it just struck something in me, what with Dubya being so religous and all. I am against the death penalty, always have been I guess. I just don't see the sense in it. I know what it says in the Bible, an eye for an eye and all that and some people justify a death penalty on that reason alone, and God wasn't exactly nice to everyone all the time, but I still don't think putting a person to death is appropriate punishment. I guess it is if you believe that person will suffer eternal damnation and fire in the depths of Hell, but no one has proven to me there will BE eternal damnation and suffering, or that there won't be for that matter. Eternal damnation and suffering can be argued either way since there is no proof one way or the other in the existence of an afterlife. Of the western democratic nations, we are among a handful which have a death penalty. I am not proud of that fact. I am a believer in punishment which to me, is making a person suffer and pay consequences for wrongdoing. Death seems to be too easy a way out. How much suffering is there in that anyway? My tax dollars go toward supporting criminals in jail. Keeping this person alive will cost me, the taxpeyer, more than execution, but I for one, would rather there was some suffering involved so this person can think about the wrongs which got that person in that situation in the first place. I think hard labor, say busting up big rocks into smaller rocks is just fine. Or maybe just doing something productive for society in some way, like picking up litter along the side of an interstate highway. Being confined may just be enough with a one way ticket in and no way out. All I really want for a criminal is that I be protected from any further harm and this criminal be made to suffer some form of consequence directly related to and as a result of the wrongdoing in some fair proportion. So, Saddam will get some form of trial by someone, probably in Iraq by whatever local government exists at the time, but since the United Nations does not endorse a death penalty, the UN will not be directly involved or officially represented which will hurt the credibility of the proceedings. I have not heard anything on this for several days of watching the news. I wonder what is happening with Saddam at the moment...

Posted by: Rowlfe - at: 1/02/2004 02:07:00 PM

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