"Virtual Chunder"
January 3, 2006
By Joseph Blarghovich
January 3, 2006
By Joseph Blarghovich
Most of the arguments I hear about this are based on cost of keeping a prisoner alive versus cost of executing a prisoner. Based on all the numbers I've seen, the costs are similar. Perhaps this would be different if inmates were kept on death row for a much shorter time, but this would only give more fuel to my real position on this issue. When somebody is convicted of a crime, that means that they were proved "beyond a reasonable doubt" to have committed the crime. But let's keep in mind that "reasonable doubt" is something which is determined by a judge. It is a loose term, and means that people can be convicted without significant evidence or acquitted with plenty of incriminating evidence. There have just been too many cases where decisions have been reversed for it to make any sense to use capital punishment. This, and my deep respect for life itself are why I believe that the death penalty should be discontinued altogether. As an afterthought, I would like to question those people who support "a woman's right to choose," but condemn the death penalty. It seems to me that they are for killing babies, and against killing criminals, which is quite ironic.