Disagrees with death penalty column
I feel compelled to respond to Ms. Harrop’s editorial against the death penalty. One of the leading arguments is that more and more states are abolishing it, and, by implication, the rest of us should join the majority or be left behind and thus appear backward and ignorant. Ms. Harrop’s belief speaks for itself, and she should try it on Socrates.
The second line of reasoning that Ms. Harrop presents is that the death penalty has not stopped anyone from committing murder. However, I am not aware of any method of counting murders that were not committed, and until somebody does, it is difficult to give this argument much weight.
The third reason given against the death penalty is that it does not bring the victim back to life. I am sure that authorities in both the Old Testament and during the 2,000 year history of Christianity have known this but nevertheless have continued, when deemed appropriate, to execute the guilty.
The last argument presented is that the state somehow justifies murder by executing the criminal. This, of course, assumes that a trial and judicial execution is almost the same as torture, rape, and killing done by the guilty party. Does that sound very convincing?
Full discussions of this complicated issue would require a book. But is there at least one reason for favoring the existence of the death penalty in any form? Well, not having the luxury of giving an encyclopedic response, I will quote from a popular song that carries part of the underlying spirit of an answer. “My object all sublime which I shall achieve in time – to let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment fit the crime.”
Saul Vydas
Columbus, MS
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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