Death Penalty - A Personal Story
- 55 Comment(s)
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I believe the death penalty has a place in our legal system, though I acknowledge there are flaws in the way it is used. To make a long and complicated story as short as possible, my mother was murdered when I was 15. The killer was facing trial for illegal manufacture of gun silencers, and decided to kidnap a woman and use the ransom money to escape to Mexico. Instead, he killed her and never showed up to collect the cash. He was turned in to police by an associate who was asked to hide the evidence; he went to trial and was sentenced to death. Thirteen years later, after many appeals and two last-minute stays of execution, he received a lethal injection. I was there, watching as he died. It was a quiet moment, deeply profound for me, and I have moved on to live a normal life as a wife and mother.
This killer was white, so the fact that the death penalty is disproportionally given to minorities was not an issue for our case. However, I think that fact shows that it is not always used properly. I also believe that public defenders are essential to the proper functioning of the system, since many defendants are poor, and these lawyers must be held to the same quality standards as private attorneys.
Most people have no firsthand experience with this subject, and I feel that it is easy to have opinions when you have never been in a situation. While I do not share my father's Christian faith, I love the response he gave when a reporter asked about forgiveness. He said, "Jesus forgave the thief who was crucified with him, but he did not rescue him from his cross." For myself, I think personal responsibility means taking the consequences of your actions. No matter how bad your situation is, there is never an excuse for causing others to suffer. And if you do, then your punishment is justified.
*Edit: For those who are curious, the murder happened in 1985, and the execution in 1998.*
- Written by: yarnjunkie
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- April 28, 2008 at 10:12 AM3865 total views
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This post was related to the theme:
Do you believe in the death penalty?
Comments:
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That is just so wrong that it took 13 years! It should not take that long to carry out a sentence. In the mean time the convicted killer gets food, shelter, reading material, friends and whatever else all at the burden of the tax payers. This system sucks and needs to be changed. |
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Wow. I didn't know that about you. Great post. I totally agree. |
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While it seemed like an eternity to me, I am glad it took so long in our case. I was a child when the murder happened, and the length of his appeals gave me a chance to grow up, get lots of therapy, and be ready to attend the execution when it happened. I agree it is a shame that we, the taxpayers, had to support him and pay for his defense and appeals, but it is the only way to ensure a fair process. I feel it is much better than paying to warehouse him in prison for 40 more years. Thanks for your response. |
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well put. i can't even begin to imagine going through any of that. i will say that i agree w/ you. i do believe in the death penalty. i used to work for the public defenders office here in my county. i LOVED my job. (it was w/ juveniles) i do believe that PD's are needed to balance out our system. PD's are held to the same standards and are REAL attorneys. |
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WOW..amazing post..I'm sorry for your loss..the statement your father gave is very powerful!! My husband worked as a prosecutor before going into Private practice. So I've seen both sides of the fence...That been said..I'm a believer in "Eye for an Eye"... |
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Hmmm. I must say that I agree with you. Your journal is very thought provoking. Though it was about 13 years ago, I'm sorry for your loss. But you are right about one thing, it is easy for one to have an opinion if they've never been in a particular situation. I'm from Chicago, IL and if you've been watching the news lately I think you know what my city is faced with. I have since relocated to Orlando, FL however it's not all roses here either because they have Disney and palm trees. I have had family gunned down, some right in front of me. I've got family in prison, one in particular for 25 to life for murder. Though he's not there because of wanting to fulfill some sick and twisted fantasy or get rich quick scheme that went wrong, he's there for protecting his family in the wrong way with the wrong mindset. I do not advocate for anyone to take another's life. There is absolutely no justification. Though we as people jokingly say "I'll kill him/her" "I'll cut him/her to death" saying it and actually doing it are two totally different beasts! We act on sheer emotion because we are built on feelings. When someone does harm to someone we love, it's our feelings that want to react with "mentally justified" harm. We revert to the eye for an eye effect. I've not always had the mentality I maintain now growing up. I am still very aggressive in things I partake in. But I've learned that in this life we are given choices. There will never be a day when we don't have a choice. In all that we do we opt to go to work or not, call in sick or not, rape or not, kill or not, vote or not, give up or not, the list goes on and on. The ones that kill choose to do so. They choose to loose control, take matters into their own hands, send a message, prove a point or however their lawyer, public defender, police, parent chooses to classify it. All of it is senseless because in the end it won't make any of us feel better. Life rolls on and waits for no one. It always wins! The death penalty was a choice to put in place and since upgrading from hanging, to the firing squad, to the electric chair, to lethal injection, to "oops he died in the infirmary ." We choose to keep it around. I think the real question here is what is justice? If we think about it long enough and I mean enough, we'll find that there is not a unanimous interpretation. Justice is an umbrella term, and underneath it are mini questions that stem from multiple personalities and feelings. The underlying question then evolves into what is justice to me? However, at this point, our country's justice is in the eye, hand, and power of our beholders. We just vote for the ones that we feel share our views, if we choose to.
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Great points, mskbowens. If we wish to minimize use of the death penalty in the future, we will do a better job helping the children of today grow up. If they learn personal responsibility, compassion for others, and to value their own self-worth, they will be far less likely to become offenders. If they are given opportunities to be educated and make good lives for themselves, they will be less likely to be in situations where "mistakes" can lead to prison or worse. There are no simple answers, and solving our crime problems is the responsibility of everyone. |
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Amen. Points well taken : ) |
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Both you and "Mskbowens" make some very good points on the matter. While I do not believe in the death penalty as a solution to any problem, I competely agree with many of the points you both made. I also have a journal post on this topic. Please feel free to read it if you are interested in another view point. |
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I hope maybe this shows people that until they've been victim (or family of) then they really can't understand why the death penalty is important. As I said before I haven't always been an advocate of the death penalty, but humanity, and my growing up a lot has changed my mind. There are people out there who do NOT deserve to live. Someone who takes another persons life in cold blood needs to be taken out. The jail systems now-a-days are too soft on criminals, and these people don;t even deserve to live / die of an old age there. |
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