Capital Punishment: Is it the answer?.
If someone murdered your child, parent, spouse, relative or even your closest friend, what punishment would you want for the criminal? If you were simply asked your opinion about capital punishment, how would you respond? What reasons would you give for your answer? Being born and raised as a Catholic, I would like to say my answer to this question would be: Capital punishment (the death penalty) is not the answer. As a Catholic I believe in the sanctity of all life. "According to the New Testament of the King James bible, Matthew chapter 25, Jesus, himself a victim of capital punishment, taught that what we do to one of his "least brothers," we do to him which certainly should give us pause when we contemplate an execution." Jesus also taught us "not to return hate with hate, and violence with violence." As human beings we are capable of imperfection and violent crimes happen daily to innocent people. But capital punishment should not be the solution when the option of life imprisonment without parole is offered. The death penalty should not be a deterrent to capital crimes. The cost of trial for death penalty is more expensive than that of life imprisonment. Most importantly, the death penalty is irreversible. Once life is taken, it cannot be restored.
"According to the 2000 American Catholic newsletter, page 14, in 1966 polls showed less than half of the U.S. population approved of the death penalty. Now polls indicate that about 75 percent of the U.S. population approve." Why this dramatic change in public opinion? Certainly, a major factor is the increasing fear and frustration concerning violent crimes. Something must be done. Many people turn to the death penalty as a possible remedy. Not only has the public turned in favor of capital punishment, but the U.S. government has also recommended that many more crimes be punishable by the death penalty.
