I Feel Better Now
The state of California put Stanley "Tookie" Williams to death this morning. To me, this raises a series of questions:
1. Why did the state execute this man? Was it vengeance, deterrence, eye-for-an-eye retribution?
2. Does his death make his victims' families feel better? If so, why?
3. Did people protest this execution because Williams was innocent? Or famous? Or "reformed"? Does it matter?
4. Should a civilized society purposely kill anyone? If so, why, and under what circumstances?
And I'm still waiting for response #1 to the question I posted a few days ago:
"Imagine that by some miracle you are suddenly the President of the United States, the most powerful man on earth.
What would you do about Iraq?"
posted by Anonymous at
9:54 AM
2 Comments:
I am completely against the death penalty (because it makes no sense for a civilized nation). With that said, I dislike finding special cases to avoid penalty. Special cases may inform us about the reasons why something like the death penalty is a bad idea, but is not a reason to decide for a particular person.
If there is reasonable evidence undermining the finding of guilt, then I would have thought clemency was the right decision. But, just because he's become a good writer and argued against gangs doesn't mean he shouldn't suffer the penalties of the crime.
For me, the penalties for the crime (death penalty) is a separate issue from whether this particular person should suffer that penalty. Therefore, given we have a death penalty for capital murder and Williams was found guilty, he should suffer that penalty. And, I'm sad that he suffers it. We are diminished as a society, but it is fair.
We should abolish the death penalty because it is not worthy of a civilized society and because we've learned that in many cases the convicted was actually innocent. I find the Governor of Illinois's decision to stop executions both brave and correct.
7:19 AM
The death penalty is another symptom of just how perverted this society has become. We live in a country that claims to be a christian nation, yet the christians who support the death penalty often read selectively from their bibles. I am not a christian, but I am sure that Christ would have been sickened by any government that kills its own.
We are Americans. We love guns and don't think there should be any legislation banning their sale or use. We are pro life and see nothing wrong with bombing abortion clinics. We claim to be modern, yet we have no trouble playing the part of barbarians as we murder our own, let our countrymen and children die in poverty, and invade countries in an effort to take their resources.
You should be proud of your country.
11:05 AM
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