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Many Reasons to Oppose Capital Punishment
By Elizabeth M. Brancato, Torrington
There are many reasons to be opposed to capital punishment. One reason is that it doesn't work as a deterrent. Murder rates continue to rise, although the death penalty has been reinstated. In order for there to be even the remotest possibility that the death penalty would serve as a deterrent, it would have to be sought and imposed swiftly, unerringly, and indiscriminately. A person who killed another would have to know, with no doubt, that the state or federal government would then kill them. This is not so. Appeals often drag on for years after the murder is committed.
The more tools (such as DNA testing) that become available to prove innocence or guilt, the more it becomes apparent that our system often makes mistakes when determining guilt and innocence. The death penalty is sought for and applied to the poorest minorities much more often than to the more affluent majority defendants.
The death penalty does not provide the justice we seek; it only provides vengeance. Vengeance is not justice. Even if we could be certain we were executing the guilty person, taking another life does nothing to provide justice. The premeditated killing of a prisoner continues the chain of violence. Killing is wrong. In this country, we say we believe that killing is wrong. However, we allow our government to kill in our name. We gain nothing, and in fact are diminished by any killing, whether it is by an individual or by our government.
There is no question that those who kill must be punished, and even punished severely. There is justice in that. The punishment should be that the murderer loses his liberty and freedom for a long time, perhaps even for the rest of his life. Not only must we punish a murderer, we must protect ourselves from that murderer. The public, and especially the family of the victim, should not ever have to see the murderer again, once he or she is convicted. The children (or any loved one) of a murder victim should never encounter the murderer of their mother in a store or bank, enjoying the exact thing he took from his victim—life. People who kill should most certainly be punished by imprisonment, but to kill them only continues the wrong that was done by the murder in the first place. It does not honor the victim.
Finally, we are a nation of laws. Our laws are based on our Judeo-Christian tradition, which is based on religious law. There are no recognized religions that tell us to kill each other. When killing happens, it happens in spite of the religion of the killer, not because of it. All our religions tell us NOT to kill; there are no exceptions. No religions tell us to kill only when we’re pretty sure we’re justified for some reason. Our laws say it is wrong to kill, so we must not continue to allow our government to violate our laws in our names.
Antoinette Bosco writes eloquently about her opposition to the death penalty in her current book, Choosing Mercy. She is an award-winning journalist, columnist and author, and she will speak at a community forum on Tuesday, November 13 in Torrington. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Upper Parish Hall of Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 220 Prospect St. This program is free and open to the public; refreshments will be served. The event is co-sponsored by the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty, the Interfaith Council of Northwest Connecticut, and the Northwest and Western Chapters of the Connecticut Green Party.
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