There are a handful of things that I am absolutely convicted of and it would pretty much take Jesus coming again to make me change my mind. Sweet corn should only be eaten July 20-Aug. 10. Lane Smith writes the best children’s books. Wrigley Field is overrated. These are just a few. Another is this: The death penalty is wrong and should be abolished. Of all the hot-button issues out there, this is the one I feel the most strongly about.
There are certainly instances that challenge that assumption. Yesterday was one of those times when Zacarias Moussaoui was given a life sentence, rather than the death penalty. That appeared to surprise just about everyone.
Should a man who played a key role in the deaths of thousands on 9/11 deserve to live? I can certainly understand those who give a resounding “no” to that question. But I don’t believe that his death would solve anything. It may give comfort to some family members. It might give many others a sense that justice has truly been done. I think it mostly satisfies our desire for vengeance, which is dangerous.
The problem with the death penalty is the big “what if” question. What if an individual is innocent? That leads into many other issues like whether a person can afford a good defense attorney. Too many innocent people have died because of a need for vengeance (Someone must pay for a crime and should pay quickly). That’s a disturbing state to be in.
But what if something happened to your children? a person might ask. What if, God forbid, something unimaginable happened to them? Wouldn’t you want vengeance? Absolutely. If someone hurt my child, my instinct would probably be to do all I could to inflict the same pain on them. Which is why I need a society that won’t allow me to do that.
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