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Last evening at 9:00 P.M. EST Wilford Berry was executed. He was the first person executed in Ohio since the death penalty was reinstated in 1981. The news for the last week was bombarded with Wilford Berry this and Wilford Berry that. There were stories about the Pope sending a letter to Governor Taft pleaing for him to save Berry. This was a particularly unusual case in that Berry wanted to be executed and did not want to live out many sitting in prison going through appeal after appeal. He still had some appeals left that he waived so that he could get it over with. Why are there so many people opposed to capital punishment? They say it not efective in detering murder. I wonder why. Earlier I stated that this was the first execution since the death penalty was reinstated in 1981. It took 18 years to finally execute somebody. In the old days capital punishment did work because somebody was convicted one day, and the next day they were hanged in the square. Today, however there is appeal after appeal. It took 8 years after his conviction to finally execute Berry. There's no wonder why capital punishment does not work any more. The news media kept telling us all about Berry. We very rarely heard about the victim's family. The little bit we did hear showed us that they do support the death penalty. Interestingly enough although we kept hearing how the Catholics oppose the death penalty, a quick poll taken by Channel 8 (WJW in Cleveland) showed us that 69% of callers support the death penalty. Why does the Pope oppose it? This shows us that the Catholics aren't really Christians like they claim because if they were they wouldn't oppose the laws passed to Moses. The Bible states that if there are witnesses (the pluralization is the key there) and the murder was diliberate then it is the responsibility of the government to execute the killer. It does make exeptions for manslaughter. We actually have it easy because in the Bible sodomy and direspecting your parents were also capital crimes. How many people are sitting on death row waiting for appeal after appeal? Do you not think that we wouldn't need so many prisons if these people were executed in a timely manner. Revising the system to make executions would kill (no pun intended) two birds with one stone. It would deter crime and help relieve over crowding in prisons. He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. - Exodus 21:12 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his manserant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. - Exodus 21:22-27 |
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