2002 Column Archives
Capital Punishment
By John Sammon
Jul 16, 2002, 15:32

One of those endless, irresolvable arguments is capital punishment, the death penalty. The key sticking point is simple, the question of whether the death penalty deters crime.

Does the death penalty deter crime? You’ve heard both sides argue it over and again.

As usual, I take a completely different tack. It’s irrelevant whether the death penalty deters crime. It would be nice if it did. We can hope. My own view is that it doesn’t deter crime, but it also doesn’t promote it.

When some maniac commits a mindless act of rage, he isn’t thinking about the possible consequences.

That doesn’t mean the death penalty isn’t valid.

If the death penalty doesn’t prevent crime, then what good is it, you ask?

Then it’s just a form of revenge, you say.

Damn straight!

This is a society founded on revenge, big and small. You cheat on your income taxes and get caught, they take away your house. You park in a no-parking zone, you get a ticket.

You beat your wife. You go to jail.

Forms of revenge.

You do worse, the punishment gets worse (in most cases).

Our bombing of Afghanistan in the wake of September 11 is revenge pure and simple. There are a few courageous misguided souls who have bumper stickers that read, “say no to war,” as though we have a simple choice to say no, as though there are no evil people in the world.

The truth is, there are some crimes so heinous they deserve the death penalty regardless of the after-results. Why is it so hard for Americans to do the right thing just because it’s unpleasant? I think it’s because television and soft living, and under-arm deodorant, have made us a people living strictly for an idealized image (everything neat and tidy), who have a hard time facing up to harsh reality.

A country that doesn’t have the guts to tell its teenagers no to drugs and hedonism, or no to illegal immigrants seeking free social services you pay for, or “no” to the government that provides those services, will argue against the death penalty.

Most Americans favor it.

Liberals, out of touch with most Americans (I respect their opinion even though I don’t agree), feel the death penalty is inhumane. You never hear anything from these do-gooders about the inhumanity shown the victim.

You also don’t hear peep-one if the culprit is given life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty. To those against the death penalty, life in a cage like a trapped animal is apparently humane.

Rotting away for the rest of your life in a box is okay.

The kindness of these alleged humanitarians is misplaced.