To many individuals, the death penalty is a very touchy subject. It's one of the few that's not too politically based (Republican vs. Democrat), however, it's one of the front-runners in debate. I used to be for the death penalty, based on people such as Hitler, Mussolini, and Osama Bin Laden. People like that were responsible for countless murders, evil plots, and terrible practices. Hitler massacred millions of jews. Mussolini bullied his way to the top of Italy and joined Hitlers side. Osama was the leader of Al-Qaeda. Those three, along with other terrible people in history fueled my siding with the death penalty. For those of you unaware, the death penalty is punishment of death for a crime (as one might assume).
Today, I stand on the opposite side of the spectrum. I have chosen to side against the death penalty. Arriving at this conclusion took a very long time, and caused much struggle within my own head. Arguing with myself over and over (of course this happened over a span of years, I didn't think about the death penalty on a daily basis), weighing the positives and negatives, and finally choosing to switch sides took time. Having one parent that supports the death penalty, and one that is strongly against it, was good for me. I was able to choose whether I supported the idea, or not, for myself. Now you might ask, why did you switch positions? Well, I'll give you some ideas.
A lot of people believe religion affects views on things such as the death penalty. In my case, this is somewhat true. I am a life-long Christian, devoted to God. I hope I didn't lose anyone by making that statement, but it's something I feel the reader must know in order to analyze and understand my opinions. Due to my Christian faith, I believe murder is a sin, and that killing someone, regardless of their faults, is murder. Jesus preached against violence, and I interpret that to include the death penalty (however, this does cause strife between Christians in how they perceive what Jesus said in regards to the 'death penalty'). The old testament has some support of the death penalty, but, again, interpretations of the text, and analyzations, cause the meaning to be somewhat blurred. With the scriptures I've read, and the things I've been taught, I have formulated the idea that the death penalty should be banned, if only using religion as a reference.
On another hand, we have atheists, or people who don't believe in God. Or we have the individuals that think the church and state should be separate (as the death penalty is a state issue). In this case, we ignore the presence of a greater being, and choose a side solely based on opinion. My argument here is; how can someone who is killed with an injection (painless), receive the punishment you think fits the crime, if they don't move on to 'Hell', and feel no pain through death (injection). If someone kills a loved one of yours, the standard reaction is a feeling of hate. Normally, one might wish to kill that individual immediately. However, if you're an atheist, wouldn't it make more sense if that person was sentenced for life, and required to stay in prison? There, that person has the time to evaluate what they've done, be forced to confinement, and possibly apologize to you (regardless of whether you care or not if they're sorry). Many murderers would probably feel regret, and have to live with it. I believe that's the punishment that fits the crime. It attacks their psychology, and for those who don't feel regret, they're stuck in prison, unable to hurt anyone else.
Those two issues were the main one's that were responsible for arriving at my position. The death penalty is easily one of the most controversial subjects in our day and age. It always has been, and probably always will be. Is there a right answer? I think so. I changed my stance, and plan on staying where I am.
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