eye for an eye?

First issue I'm going to tackle is one I have pretty much already formed an opinion about...we'll ease ourselves into this whole "forming concrete opinions" idea... The death penalty- I'm not for it.

First of all, I would like to say that the crimes for which people end up deserving the death penalty are heinous & horrifying. Mass murders. Serial rapists. Child molesters. Those who take away the rights of others should not be afforded many rights of their own, save that of a fair & speedy trial. But what is the ultimate punishment for their atrocities?

One stone cold fact we continue to hear over & over is the fiscal advantage. It costs more to execute someone than to keep them in prison for life. This, of course, is due to the long process of appeals that ensues after the jury announces the penalty, which can last for decades. This financial incentive to my dealth penalty objections is the weakest of my arguments, however. When a life hangs in the balance (not to mention important judicial precidents, reparations to the victim/victim's family), it seems callous to base a decision on money.

Judgement. We have a whole branch of government devoted to it. Yet, the ultimate judgement comes from God. Everyone will be judged at the end of his/her life...as will the criminals, those on whom we confer our own judgment. My point isn't quite what you'd expect, though. Since everyone will be judged at one point or another, why hasten the time of judgement? I mean, God's going to judge the guy at some point anyways. Giving the offender time to think (LOTS of time to think...like the rest of their natural life) can accomplish several things. One, it would theoretically give the criminal a chance to REALLY think about what they've done. I think it would be great if they were forced to go to psychotherapy to talk to someone about what they've done. Once every other week for the rest of their life? Unless insanity is the cause, forcing the person to reflect on what they've done would have to bring about some remorse eventually. Setting up a few chit-chat sessions with the victim/victim's families probably would augment this process as well. If they never manage to grasp the magnitude of their actions, then hey, at least the government saved a few dollars...

Lots of thinking time also allows the criminal a chance to reconcile with God. We all sin & according to the Bible, all sins are equal in the eyes of God. Of course, it is hard for us to compare water cooler gossip with raping a six year old, but apparently, they're equivalent. So, maybe giving this criminal a few books, one being the Bible, would allow him to know God, to see what he did was wrong & to ask for forgiveness for what he did. We all need it & although it is human nature to think not everyone deserves it based on the weight of their actions, that belief is false. Again, if they do not use that time to reconcile with God, they will be judged accordingly at the end of their life, just like the rest of us.

Imagining the amount of remorse one would feel after truly realizing the weight of their crime is overwhelming. To me, THAT is the greater punishment. Death by leathal injection seems easy, comparatively. ...also, I hear prison isn't the most fun way to spend your time. Again, which is the worse punishment?

So this first issue is a good example of why I am blogging in the first place. My opinion on this issue is in contrast to those conservative/Republican ideas on which I was raised. Eye for an eye? It is in the Bible, but forgiveness is also a theme that appears several times, if I'm not mistaken.

As an aside, when I speak of life imprisonment as an alternative to the death penalty, I mean a real life sentence. None of this plea bargaining, out on parole for good behavior nonsense. Once they're in, they're in...& I'm thinking maximum security is in order, please.