Jun 16 2008
Death Penalty Protest in Raleigh
RALEIGH - About 30 death penalty opponents marched through the city Sunday, with a small number of them planning to walk all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
The walk was sponsored by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation and the Capital Restorative Justice Project. Marchers started the afternoon at Central Prison, then planned to walk to the Capitol and into North Raleigh before calling it a day.
Really? And the point of all this was…? Honestly, I think all these people accomplished today was to burn some calories.
John P. Comer, state coordinator for Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, planned to walk Sunday from the prison to the Capitol. Sunday evening, walkers and supporters planned to meet for supper and prayer at Church of the Nativity on Ray Road.
Wearing a T-shirt that said, “The death penalty only makes more victims,” Comer said he hopes the march will bring more attention to the fight against the death penalty.
“It’s not right,” he said of capital punishment. “It’s not just.”
I actually agree with these people in principle. I too am against the death penalty. This is in contrast to Sam, the site administrator, who strongly supports it. But I think this march was useless and futile. This is a very emotional (and in my case, philosophical) issue, and you’re not going to change anyone’s mind by walking around Raleigh all day feeling sorry for the thugs and murderers on death row.
I oppose the death penalty for three simple reasons. One is philosophical, and the other two are practical.
1) As a Christian, I believe all life is sacred, even the lives of thugs, rapists, murderers, and similar prison scum. Life is the very breath of God, and as only God is allowed to give it, only God is allowed to take it away. It’s not our place to met out life and death.
2) Christian or not, I’m not above wanting to see these vile creatures suffer for their crimes. In my opinion, life in prison, especially a tough prison (no Tv’s, no weight room, etc.) is a whole lot more painful than a quick needle in the arm.
3) Even with DNA evidence, mistakes happen. Just recently, a death row inmate in North Carolina was exonerated after it was revealed that the arresting officer lied on the stand and fabricated evidence. Luckily we got it right and didn’t put that innocent man to death, but that was too close a call for my taste. I don’t like the “Oops Factor” associated with the death penalty. If you get it wrong, you don’t get do-overs.
Celtic,
That death row inmate WAS NOT exonerated. The district attorney simply did not refile the charges considering the evidence and time elapsed. So legally the inmate was not voted innocent by a jury of his peers.
I am for the death penalty as a punishment not a deterrant.
Here’s a link to that story:
http://www.carolinapoliticsonline.com/2008/04/03/innocent-man-leaves-death-row/
I’ll concede that he wasn’t found innocent, as I mistakenly said before. However, the fact that the lead police investigator lied on the stand and withheld evidence cannot be ignored.
Look, once the needle goes in- that’s it. Over. Done. Fin. And it’s far too late for an “ooops, sorry”. As seen in this case, even today the criminal justice system can mess up. I simply can’t look at a case like this and trust the justice system enough to give it a “non-correctable” option like the death penalty.
Paul,
What would the purpose of the death penalty be, if not for a deterrent. “Don’t kill people or we’ll kill you” is about the only logic I see in the death penalty.