| Only Abort the Living: My views on The Death Penalty |
| It seems like everyone has an opinion about the death penalty. I've yet to meet someone who didn't lean in one direction or the other. In this rant we'll examine the death penalty and discuss what I feel about it... not that you should be surprised by my views if you've read the other rants yet. In every study ever conducted that I've ever known about, it's been proven over and over again that the death penalty is NOT a deterrent against violent crimes. As a matter of fact, the death penalty seems to raise the rates of violent crimes in the states that feature it. The death penalty is, at the end of the day, a form of vengeance for the victims of such acts. Nothing more. You can try to butter it up and coat it in a nice glaze, claiming that the justice system doesn't work, or that our prisons are overpopulated... but let's face it: the death penalty is no solution. And yet, while I don't endorse the death penalty, there are some people who've been executed that I don't mind to see gone... people like Ted Bundy and Ailleen Wournos. I'm somewhat untouched by their deaths and I'm happy they won't be able to do those crimes again. But the fact remains: if they were locked up in a maximum security prison, how would they have been able to murder again? The overpopulation of prisons is a problem that can't be solved with the death penalty. If people didn't commit the crimes in the first place, they wouldn't be in prison, right? The only way to solve the overpopulation issue is to take a good long look at our judicial system and the laws it fights to uphold. We need to examine sentencing and the process of removing criminals from our society. Oh yeah, and how can I forget... battling the crime before it starts would help, too. We can do this by battling poverty, and we can battle poverty by getting the Republicans out of Washington. But I'm getting ahead of myself and turning this into a different rant altogether... so instead of branching further, let me offer *my* solution to the overpopulation problem and create a method that would rid us of the Death Penalty forever. First off, we need to assess the crimes and type-cast the sentencing for such crimes. By blending homicidal maniacs, drug dealers, sex offenders, and other criminals in with the general population, you're creating a criminal universe inside the prison. The best way to solve the issue is to split people up and place them in different prisons. For drug offenders, put them all in a series of medium-security prisons with drug rehabilitation counseling. Make them talk one-on-one with junkies and parents who've lost their children to drug abuse. Force-feed them how narcotics destroy lives and teach them why a 60-minute high isn't worth the loss of life. Then put sex offenders in a different prison where they're counseled on sex crimes and what makes them wrong. Make them meet victims and try to force them to understand what was wrong in what they did. And with violent criminals who haven't murdered anyone, put them in a maximum security prison that keeps them away from everyone else. So what about the murderous criminals? This is where my concepts get interesting. Have you ever seen the movie "No Escape?" Well, I propose that the US government should purchase a desert island hundreds of miles away from civilization, in international waters, somewhere near the equatorial line. We protect the island with retired naval ships and airplanes to ensure that no one can get on or off the island. Then, we fly in criminals via helicopter, drop them in a raft near the shoreline, and make them row themselves to their new home. Every week we'd airdrop shipments of food onto the island and we'd have a heavily-protected guard base there where we could distribute food, medical treatment, and other assistance. But as far as shelter and clothing are concerned, they'd be on their own. It's sounds rediculous at first, I know... but if you really sit down, shut up, and think about it, this idea could potentially work and save taxpayers a lot of money. We wouldn't need the death penalty anymore, so people like me would stop complaining. And it's far more humane than the death penalty... give these people a second chance at life while keeping them distanced from the rest of us. If it were done well and designed by smart people, this system could truly work wonders for the justice process. But hey, if you want to keep electocuting people... fine. Just don't expect my support. |
| December 12 2005 |
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