Capital Punishment

I am certain I have written about capital punishment before - but Blogger deleted the prior incarnation of this blog. Regardless, it is always a good idea to revisit the subject to reflect on subtle changes in my thinking on the subject.

I am against capital punishment. It is murder - even if for a reason or to rectify another wrong, it is still murder. Just because the State says putting someone to death is just punishment, it is still murder.

That being said, I have to say that my belief that it is wrong has been tested lately. The Carlie Bruscia case is the case we are currently considering. I feel that the perpetrator, Joseph P. Smith, who was convicted of first degree murder, rape, kidnapping, etc. last month is the worst kind of human being there is. I feel what sealed his fate was his own words, told to his brother and mother; his written word to his brother (in code) and since his incarceration, to another inmate telling that inmate how to pummel some other inmate properly. This was great insight into the mind of a very disturbed individual. He is likely unrepentant and I bet his only regret is getting caught.

Again, this case, hitting so close to home, has severely tested my steadfast opposition to the death penalty. If anyone deserves this punishment, it is him.

My philosophy of being against the death penalty is based on my lack of belief in the afterlife, heaven, hell and all that fairy tale stuff many people believe. I think that there isn't anything after death. It is just nothingness, just like it was before you were born. Nothing. So, my usual argument is that the death penalty is just an easy way out. I think a much harsher penalty on this earth for this life is "LIFE IN PRISON" without the possibility of parole. It is a death sentence of a sort: No freedom, no real enjoyment to be a full living human being with the pleasures of life, nothing. Just confinement.

The confinement I am talking about is very restrictive. Not much human contact. A single cell with no amenities. Maybe paper and pencil, but not much else. No TV, no radio. NO human contact. Just confinement for thirty, forty years. No exercise plan, no education. A true death sentence. This, to me, is pure torture.

I am severely opposed to torture. But, for people like this animal, I would consider applying measured torture. Perhaps an occasional choking to the point of near unconciousness - just to give him a taste of the last moments of poor Carlie's life. Maybe an occasional anal probe to remind him what it must have been like for her. But, what would that make the perpetrators of that punishment no better than this creep.

The problem I see with this whole death penalty thinking is that we even go there. We as a society (the U.S.) should just not entertain it. But, it is part of the culture now. If the expected punishment was decades of isolation (till death) for these bastards, then we wouldn't be tempted to resort to exactly what we despise.

These criminals are the worst of the worst. And they deserve a harsh punishment, for sure. But an eye for an eye accomplishes little.