Legacy of Executions
Executions have an unexplainable appeal that many are drawn to.
Whether it be the macabre way of how such a damnable machine
works to bring about the extinguishing of life; or the perverted
spectacle of how much torture one can endure. Many hide behind
the moral mask that shields them from being a pact of this
blood-thirst and abandonment of life.
These people exist in all manners and walks of life. They usually
do not have the slightest ink1ing of why they really support and
believe in the existence of executions. Their excuses are
normally derived from the shattered lived of legitimate victims
who actually feel there is a reason to watch someone die for
their sins. However, no matter how you feel the death of an
individual brings about "closure" or "deters crime", you cannot
find an excuse for the lack of conscience and remorse you happen
to possess. The reality is, there is very little difference
between you and the predators who walk the roads of murder a d
mayhem.
We oftentimes talk about if murderers possess a genetic link with
someone within their lineage who themselves was a murderer. In
response we want to believe that such an evil could not possibly
be passed from generation to generation; and that such science is
ridiculous and fruitless. The fact is, no matter how much we want
to believe otherwise; there may actually be something to this
theory.
While genes clearly show that human features are passed from
individual to individual, one could believe that the
characteristics of morbidity and evil can just as well surface in
generations to come. It's not far fetched when you think about it.
After all, executions and those who support it have managed to
evolve quite nicely together.
The truth of our efforts to maintain executions and the reasons
we include as to why they should exist today has, indeed, been
passed from our ancestors. The proof lies in time itself.
In the 7th century, in Greece; the Lawgiver, Draco, issued a
code, know as Draconian Law; that punished nearly all crimes by
death. Was his decree to lofty in its expectations of a perfect
Greece? Or; would we simply deem him as a dictator with no regard
for human life?
Mark 15:12-13
"Then Pilate answered and said again unto them, what will ye then
that I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews?
And they cried out again, crucify him."
Though ignorance prevails In the face of purity, we began our
reign of torture before the crucifixion. Christ died not only to
quench the Roman's thirst for death, but as well, died in a way
that he was presented to the masses who bore witness to the nails
driven into his body and the spear of a soldier thrust between
his ribs. Though he was innocent of crime, Christ died in this
horrible way because he was a threat to the Roman Empire. Even
though his death has great meaning, it was torturous and served a
purpose for the people. How do we feel about such a covenant
execution? Do we condemn those who killed Christ?
The middle ages brought forth a generation of mankind where
executions became almost circus-like in their morbid adolescence.
Only at this time in our evolution we have begun to toe the line
of some semblance of what we perceive as justice. Justice
manifested itself in the form of religion. We have now begun to
see fit to kill in the holy name of God. While condemning the
Romans as uncivilized, barbaric animals for how they killed
Christians and their undesirables; we have begun to practice the
worst kind of torture in order to purge evil from our fellowman.
Europe gave history forms of execution that will remain heralded
as the worst means of punishment known to man. Whether it be
drowning and burning -at the stake for witches and heretics,
decapitation for the upper class, hanging for the lower class,
drawn and quartering, disembowelment, the iron maiden, racks, or
any other macabre means of death; the public was involved. What
started out as a means for the peasants to witness demonstrations
of religious justice soon became a spectacle of blood-thirst and
entertainment. The torture outweighed the very meaning of what
executions were really meant for. Once again, execution and its
supporters managed to be confused as to why someone must die for
crime.
Has this evolution of death, and those who support it managed to
cease this madness over 500 years since then?
No, because just as the Romans enforced the crucifixion of Christ
as their justice; and the Europeans allowed religion to make them
right in their need to kill, we have implemented justice as our
scapegoat to execute as our ancestors did. Each generation feels
the need to condemn the last for their sins; yet no progress can
be found in rectifying these mistakes.
The only thing that changes is the excuses and the means by which
we kill. So bent of the desire for revenge and the need to
maintain some semblance of justice, is what blinds us to the
comparison of ourselves and the very people we want to do away
with. We ask Łor respect for human life, yet we show we have no
value for life. Our answer for someone' s death, is to kill, just
to prove killing is wrong!
The evolution of executions has advanced, not because nature
deems it a necessary evil to insure some type of balance is
assured for us; but simply because mankind allows such a
damnation to exist among us. We strive for the prosperity and
education of our children's future, but by our shallow views and
complacency towards issues that we do not feel apply to us, we
harbor our children from questions and decisions that will
eventually be asked of them. And by this, it will be our overwhelming ignorance of what we support, or do not care about,
that ensures our children maintain this cycle of death. The
spirit of our inhumanity and desire for revenge is what almost
guarantees the Legacy of Executions will have a chapter in
generations to come.
Someone once said: "The civility of a nation can be measured by
how it treats its criminals."
Are we prepared to hide behind the guise of a civil and
God-fearing nation, when our appetite for revenge is so evident
in the contradiction of our views towards the death penalty? Or,
can we simply ensure that the past does not repeat itself because
we understand that our decision will have an impact on the future
to come?
William Knotts Z-543
Holman 3700, 4-U-6
Atmore AL 36503
July, 2002
Something to think about
Words from death row......
For a full list of articles written by Juveniles on Alabama's Death Row, go to the complete list of titles at
Stories.
