I lost someone I loved to the senseless act of murder. He was left to bleed to death, unable to call for help. Left to die alone. Before Ken's death, together he and I fought hard to have the death penalty abolished. It is ironic and very horrible that he died at the hands of someone very much like he was fighting for. Of course, we discussed the scenario of this happening to one of us or one of our family and therefore I was lucky enough to know Ken's spirit. I couldn't be with him at the moment he needed me the most, but because of the kind of man Ken was, I have learned I need to carry on with the fight we had started. This is what he would want and this is what we believe . . .
The death penalty is the ultimate form of revenge. How can we communicate the message "Killing is wrong!" by killing someone? Canada has proven again and again what a civilized country we are. We proved it in 1976 when we finally abolished the death penalty. We, as an intelligent nation, came to grips with the fact that killing human beings is not a deterrent. We, as people with a conscience, realized that an innocent person could be and has been killed by judicial murder. Once in a while, however, even in Canada, one or two very uneducated, ignorant politicians will try again to reinstate capital punishment. They play on the fears of people whenever an extremely horrendous crime is committed at which time they feel they are able to buy votes. These men must be stopped before we, as a country, revert back to the archaic practice of killing anyone who pisses us off.
Lets talk about some facts concerning the death penalty. Since the USA is our neighbour and is in the big business of killing people, the facts will be about them. As of the end of 1997, only 12 states did not have the death penalty; Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. This may be a coincidence, but out of all the states in the USA, these states are the most beautiful. Perhaps it's because they are not covered in blood. Right now Texas is the proud state bearing the name, "Murder Capital of the World" with 180 murders, however Virginia is trying to claim that title at 67 murders.
The United States executed 16 people in 1989. In 1997, the government saw fit to execute 74 people, and by the end of December 1999, 98 people were executed. This dramatic increase in executions makes us aware of how blood thirsty a country they are. Is the United States so confident in their justice system that they believe all of these people they murdered were guilty? Murder is wrong - no one has the right to kill another human being. When a state empowers itself to the level of playing God, they only set an example for would be killers. When a government kills a person in the name of justice, it puts itself on the same level as a murderer in devaluing human life. Simple point.
But the state is very humane when they kill someone. If the prisoner is to die by lethal injection, his arm is rubbed with alcohol before the injection. They don't want the murder victim to get an infection and drop dead before they are able to kill him. A few years back, in Oklahoma, authorities revived Robert Brecheen after a suicide attempt, pumped his stomach and cheerfully executed him a few hours later. John del Vecchio was given heart surgery twice in November of 1996, and then he was killed in December. You must wonder why the government goes to this extreme with a dead man. The answer is very simple. The prisoner will not be allowed in any way to take away the fun from the witnesses, who want to see him dead. Some politicians make their way into office by being bought by voters who ask only one thing in exchange - they want to witness an execution. These are some of the same people who are running your country and making decisions on your behalf. Scary, isn't it?
The "eye for an eye" theory has been applied by people who have misinterpreted it to their own advantage. The Old Testament talked about the death penalty, however it also called for many safeguards which made it rare and almost impossible to carry out. In the Old Testament, these are some of the crimes which required death; Murder, striking father or mother, kidnapping, cursing father or mother, harming a pregnant woman, knowingly owning a violent ox that kills someone (today it may be a pit bull), sorcery, bestiality, working on a Sabbath, adultery, human sacrifices, homosexuality, blaspheming the name of the Lord, false prophecy, worshipping false Gods, disobeying a priest, disobeying a parent, raping a betrothed young woman, and losing your virginity before marriage. How many of you would be alive? Would your President? In the New Testament, Jesus says, "Let one without sin cast the first stone." By saying this, He demands that one who places himself in the position to judge or one who executes must be 100% sinless. Christ died for all sinners, when he was hung on the cross. When He died, he showed us to love and to forgive those who harm us. His last words were, "Father, forgive them!". With His death he wiped out the Old Testament by clearly telling us that all life belongs to the Creator, and no one else has the right to take it.
Revenge brings no peace to the family of the victims. If the father of a murdered daughter enjoys seeing another human being put to death for that murder, does he not then put himself on the same level as the accused killer. Has he not killed in his heart? The victim's family needs to feel like their needs are being met. They need to feel vindicated and be able to express their anger. They have a right to as much information as possible about the case, and must feel like they are a part of the justice process. Closure is a very over used word, however how can a loved one find closure when in a death penalty case they are always needing to fight to get the accused killed. A feeling of helplessness and failure comes with having a sentencing set and not having it followed though. They need to be able to mourn their tremendous loss. The death penalty keeps the spotlight on the killer rather than the victim. Because a death penalty case goes on for many years the family must relive the tragedy over and over. If the convicted murderer was sentenced to "life without possibility of parole" (LWP) and if the victim's family could trust the system to keep the inmate behind bars, they could finally step back and mourn their loss. Victims families need to be heard, otherwise it is no surprise that they express and feel horrible anger, frustration and revenge, all of which stem from the complete helplessness they encounter. The danger with quick revenge is that an innocent person could be charged with the crime, and the real murderer would still be walking with his freedom. This is a frightening possibility that has happened many times. "
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
