Capital Punishment Wed Jun 7 23:37:26 2000
My view on this subject has changed with time. At times I see a case on t.v. and think that the best form of punishment for the offender is the death penalty, yet at other times I think that he/she should be put in prison for life. But lately I've come to one point and only one point, which I keep sticking to over and over again. That being that I believe against the dealth penalty.
The reason I believe against the dealth penalty is as follows. First of all; now days they try to make the 'forms' of death a bit less painful than before, and it's no where near as painful as how much pain the victim of the crime probably went through. The pain the victim probably felt, was the pain of not being able to say goodbye to his/her relatives, the pain of the actual hurt caused by the perpetrator of the crime, the pain of being killed and taken away by someone the victim did not know, the pain of seeing an unknown person as the last face the victim saw when he/she died. Now all that pain does not account to 'some' pain that the perpetrator would feel during a letal injection or an electricution (sp). Due to this, I believe that the only form of punishment for murderers is to let them have life in prison.
I believe that if a person is put in prison for life, he/she thinks about what he/she did wrong. Sure a lot of people out there think that life in prison isn't bad because at least you get to live. But who wants to live in a prison, with no windows, the only contact you have is with other offenders, the thoughts that (I can only predict) run through the heads of those offenders of living their life in the same place forever. I believe the better punishment is when the perpetrator sits around in his/her cell for the rest of his/her life and each night before he/she goes to bed, he/she has to think of what he/she did wrong. I
know for a fact that when I do things wrong, and get punished for it or even not punished for it, I lay in bed at night and think about what I did wrong, and if I wouldn't have done it, I would be a happier person than I am today. But the things I have done are only 'small' kiddy things, no where near as bad as 'killing' others!!
If I had commited a crime, I would much rather have me sent to death than to live a life in pain thinking about the crime I had committed. Thinking about something you've done wrong is the worst kind of torture one can ever get (from my perspective). Though I'm sure there are others out there who probably believe totally differently from me I'm sure.
Please note also; yes I know that the cost of an inmate is high. Yes I know that our tax dollars go out to those inmates who are getting the best they can get for killing someone. And for that I must add as well, that I believe in actually cutting down on that cost..we do NOT need to supply inmates with t.v's, with stereo's, weight room's etc. What we need to give them is a room and a toilet..and some food. That is the only way they'll actually feel the torture of living a life filled with guilt!!!!