Writer's Block: Capital offense

[readingredhead]

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[I am now procrastinating, but I actually do have pretty strong opinions on this one.]

In my morality, killing people is WRONG, under any circumstances. Whenever I say this as an argument against the death penalty, people who support the death penalty often counter with, "Well, then what do we do to people who kill people? If what they've done is so wrong, don't they deserve to be punished?" Which, in someone's logic, might make sense (we won't get into the punishment vs. rehabilitation debate right now). But the way I see it, imposing the death penalty teaches the public that killing is okay as long as it's done by the government. In the words of a friend, "How does killing people who are killing people show that killing people is wrong?" Yes, there are trials, and appeals, and tons of money spent on this (we'll get back to this point later), but ultimately someone DIES at the hands of the American government, and this is a BAD IDEA. Our judicial system might hold for now, but how many average people understand the workings of the judicial system? It's too easy, in my opinion, for things to slide in the wrong direction. If the government can kill people to enforce some laws, there is always that small but significant possibility that they will be able to kill people to enforce MORE laws, and even if anarchy never reigns at home, it sets a terrible example to the rest of the world.

And then there's the money. Don't get me started on the costs of the death penalty. Because we do have such an intricate and functioning judicial system, it costs the state a ton of money to go through the process of trials and appeals and related stuff in order to actually instigate Death By Government Decree. In fact, it costs more money to kill a criminal than it does to lock him up and pay for his meals and other necessities FOR THE REST OF HIS NATURAL LIFE (I have nothing against life imprisonment). When I state this some people go on and on about prison overcrowding, but really this isn't a problem that we can solve by killing prisoners! Hm, here's a brilliant idea, what about trying to provide decent education, healthcare, and job support so that people don't end up in prison to begin with? Hello, America, how about a reasonable welfare system? (Yes, I am asking for miracles. But they never happen if you don't ask for them...)

(Also, let's mention that many of the people who think the death penalty could help ameliorate prison overcrowding would be appalled if I suggested to them that birth control and family planning could help ameliorate general overpopulation. And in another instance of people who don't make sense, the people protesting abortion because "every life matters" also frequently support the death penalty...because really, your life only matters if you haven't screwed it up yet. I don't understand how people can be so concerned with a child's right to be born and then give up on caring about quality of life as soon as they're out of the womb.)

As for the way in which this affects my political support, I'm obviously more supportive of candidates who favor more restrictions on the use of the death penalty but I'm not about to vote for a third-party candidate just because abolishing the death penalty is part of his/her platform. Doing something like that often takes votes away from the more mainstream liberal candidates and threatens their ability to win. While I would love to see someone run with the intention of eliminating the death penalty, in today's political reality that's not going to get you elected, and I'm not going to do anything that would jeopardize the possibility of a liberal White House (or governorship, etc.).

Comments

[octavius-x.livejournal.com]

I agree with you for the most part, esp. about birthcontrol and education for all of America, however... I do think there are some crimes heinous enough to deserve the death penalty, or at least for them to be locked up in solitary forever and for someone to throw away the key. Genocide, serial killers who torture their victims, people who kill multiples of people like the Virginia Tech killer (38 people I think)...and I know the difficulty with this is how are we going to define heinous, where do we draw the line, but in my opinion these people have caused so much pain and suffering to their victims and the families of their victims they've forfeited their emotional rights. I almost want to say human rights, but I think legally this is not possible.

[moiraj.livejournal.com]

I probably shouldn't comment on this, as I'm not American, but I will anyway. I agree with everything you said, but for me an enormous problem is the fact that people are wrongfully convicted. All the time. Everywhere. Until that problem is eliminated, and I can't see how it ever could be, there shouldn't be irreversible sentences.

[hodgetopodge.livejournal.com]

I feel compelled to put my philosophy degree to the only use it has other than breaking my heart and making me annoying at parties. i.e., to point out rhetorical problems, especially with regard to ethical arguments. Saying that something is a bad idea does not make it so. I realise it's a freewriting exercise, but it's still a bad idea. Things like the prison system and the justice system and the role of economic conditions on behavior are so vast that it's hard to speak about them with much certainty. On the economic note, I don't suppose you would support the use of AAVE in the public schools? At some point, education and welfare become brainwashing. (None of which is to say that I don't think a better public education wouldn't be immensely helpful to everyone. I mean instead that it's not easy to implement because of huge social differences. Such is the burden of being white and middle class.) Whether you think prisons are for rehabilitation or punishment matters very much to (1) what you mean by justice and how you want the courts to conceive of sentencing, (2) how to clean up the problems with the prison system, which go far beyond overcrowding (solitary confinement is a big one). I think you've put aside the key ethical issue here. We can begin by assuming that all Americans think prison ought to be a deterrent to illegal behaviors. How someone answers the rehabilitation/punishment question says everything about how they believe that function ought to be carried out. I'll assume from your statements about family planning and welfare that you support rehabilitation. The question is, why? For my own part I will volunteer that the dignity (or, say, potential dignity) of an individual life ought to outweigh a single action and that a person can change with the desire and help-- most of the time. The help is missing most of the time. The other side (desire) is complicated by the fact that at least 15-25% of the prison population are sociopaths. What do you suggest you do with them? What about sex offenders who have a diagnosable psychological condition? Child abusers? I suppose you could turn the entire prison system into a psychiatric hospital system. What then of the mentally healthy people who screwed up?

On another note, have you ever heard Dan Savage go on about heterosexual couples who fail to use birth control and having or mistreating kids they don't want being the results of the great social experiment regarding straight vs gay couples' effectiveness as parents?