If a living breathing human being is killed out of vengeance is it considered justice? George Orwell vividly describes how destroying a life in full bloom also destroys a large part of ourselves. Society bases its laws on justice and the moral community that requires that each person respects the life and liberty of others. Those who commit vicious crimes destroy the bases on which a moral community rests. These unwritten moral ethics should not only include the criminals but should include everyone, including the state. When supporting the death penalty we not only kill the criminal we destroy a piece of ourselves.
Capital punishment corrupts our mind. Orwell vividly describes how destroying a life in full bloom also destroys a piece of our mind. In "A Hanging" written by Orwell, he describes his experience with an execution. "He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone-one mind less, one world less"(pg.10 A Hanging). Orwell describes how the man lives in the same world as he, and when the man died part of Orwell's mind died with him. A deep sense of loss is felt when witnessing such and evil act. This loss is the fading of our spirit that drives us and tells us that we are alive, our ethics, and morals are also questioned. The very base of our humanity is shaken by the fact that we are part of such an atrocity. .
Capital punishment questions our sense of morality. What makes us human? Many things make us who we are and among them is kinship and compassion. When a heinous crime is committed we lose our compassion and desire revenge. Our quest for vengeance is the desire to see persons suffer for their actions. The father of one of Ted Bundy's victims" quotes, "I wish they"d bring him back to Lake City and let us have at him". Even in such a tragic situation, we as humans must maintain our morals.
