crUEl & UnUsUAl?

Everything's big in Texas! Especially their execution numbers. Earlier this week, they reached their 400th. Texas lead all states in 2006 by an incredibly LARGE MARGIN, 24-5. Former governor and current president George Bush executed 131 in 5 years. That's a compassionate conservative?

The Death Penalty. I've gone back and forth for years on this topic. Until now, I've never been brave enough to hop on a side. From today until I change my mind, I am AGAINST capital punishment. The "eye for an eye" argument has kept me from taking a stance until this week. As I increasingly lose confidence in religion, Christianity specifically, the moral source of this argument is under question. And goes AGAINST the principles of Jesus. Executing someone has no place within FORGIVENESS and "TURNING THE CHEEK." That's the moral question.

It's more complex than even that. Unlike religion, LAW is absolute. YES or NO basically. Being arrested and charged with a crime is fundamentally based in the belief that it's reasonable you've committed said crime. Then you get a jury "of your peers" to weigh the evidence and cast a verdict in your case. Appears pretty simple. Just as the jury are people, so are the police. They have their prejudices and agendas. The results are surprising. 2 out of 3 Death Penalty cases are being overturned. Remember Illinois suspending their death penalty because of the state of the system?



Once convicted, rightfully or not, you head to Death Row. This process is where we have to question our ethics. A death row inmate will spend on average 10 years on the row. The mental anguish caused by this drawn out process borders torture. Americans approve of the death penalty because of individual selfishness. "They deserve it" should never come from a Christian. If it does, I question your faith. This is a gateway moral issue. This type of MURDER is condoned and supported, so WE can feel good about OURSELVES. It doesn't bring back the slain, and it doesn't teach a lesson to the culprit. But this acceptance feeds into the bigger desensitization we've been undergoing. And now we're participating in torture.

Like the majority of things in this country, it comes down to the bottom line. Yes, prisons have also been privatized and prepped for profit. I think we're completely missing the boat on handling criminals. I am a big believer in legitimate rehabilitation. Most criminals are "products of their environments." You take them out of their element, and you have an opportunity to make change. I'm not necessarily talking college degrees, but some life skills. A lot more can be done if the true intent is make them contributing citizens. Rarely is one's first crime murder. Instead the hate is provoked in order to guarantee the repeat business.

WE NEED TO HELP OUR PEOPLE, NOT KILL THEM!

P.L.U.R.,
zAy