Posted by dahsdebater on 1/22/2016 11:22:00 PM (view original):
How is it that murder is the only crime for which we have apparently determined that "justice" mandates a punishment that resembles the crime, and that a different punishment can't serve "justice?" If you're convicted of theft the government's not going to take your stuff (though you may pay a fine, so sorta). If you're convicted of assault, they're not gonna line some guys up to beat you. If you're convicted of B&E they're not gonna smash up your windows and scare your kids. If you're convicted of indecent exposure they're not gonna make you look at some dude's junk. If you're convicted of rape, they're sure as hell not going to rape you. That's not to say it won't happen in your high-security prison, but it could just as easily happen to the grand theft guy. And you could be just as liable to fines.
So why, for murder, must the punishment "fit the crime?" Why can't a life prison sentence constitute "justice?" How is it even possible that in your mind, the one-word response "justice" answers the question of what makes government-sanctioned murder ok? Does that mean you should get off scot-free for murder 1 if the guy you killed had murdered a member of your family or a close friend? Seems like it should. Killing someone who previously killed someone else is justice.
Because murder is different.
If you're a victim of theft, you can either get your stuff back or get new stuff to replace it.
If you're a victim of assault, you heal.
If you're raped, you eventually come to terms with it, either on your own or with the help of counseling.
If you're murdered . . . you're dead. There's no coming back from that.
Plus, the families of the victims are often forced to relive the loss of their loved ones over and over. Here in CT in 2007, we had a brutal triple murder in which a couple of low life ******** raped and murdered a mother and her two teenaged daughters in their house while the husband was beaten and tied up in the basement. When they were done, they set the house on fire and left. The husband was able to free himself and escape with his life. The two murderers were caught, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Since then, our stupid *** state revoked the death penalty, and their death sentences were commuted to life sentences.
That action alone brought the crime back into the public spotlight, and the husband again had to deal with the media circus and relive the events of that day. Even more recently, one of the murderers has been complaining about the way he's being treated in prison, particularly about the food he's being served, and has filed a lawsuit against CT for the "inhumane treatment" he's had to deal with in prison. Meanwhile, his victims are still dead. And I'm sure in a couple of years there will be parole hearings in which the murderers will have their days in court to plead their case for release, which will again cause the husband to once again relive the events of that day. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The death penalty brings closure. Appropriate punishment for the murderers. Some level of closure for the families of the victims in knowing that those who did harm to their loved ones have paid the ultimate price that their actions deserved.