08-02-2023, 11:09 PM
When a friend of mine was murdered by gunfire only a few feet from where I was sitting, I had a chance to think about where I am on the death penalty. I decided that in this particular case, I would choose life without parole for the shooter, and that is, indeed, what he got. The guy who hired the shooter got the same.
I also decided that I am willing to be agnostic on the question, in the sense that I respect both sides, although I reject some of the arguments from both sides. For example, I think the death penalty is a subject of simple morality, and I reject and ignore the argument that it is expensive, just as I reject an argument that the death penalty is a cheaper alternative to imprisonment -- there seem to be differing views on which costs more, and to me it is just an irrelevance.
I also see limits in arguments about "taking a life," because it seems pretty obvious that some lives are different and more valuable than others.
I did decide one thing in response to that long ago murder. I believe that when he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the right eye of his victim, that the murderer at that moment gave up rights he had over his own life. It is due to the mercy of the society he lived in that he is allowed to live, and subject to the limit on cruel or unusual punishment, the society decides how he will live out the rest of his life. Curiously enough, I do feel a little sorry for the killer (if not for the guy who hired him), and it occurs to me that what he did is marginally less than what the Manson Family killers did.
I also decided that I am willing to be agnostic on the question, in the sense that I respect both sides, although I reject some of the arguments from both sides. For example, I think the death penalty is a subject of simple morality, and I reject and ignore the argument that it is expensive, just as I reject an argument that the death penalty is a cheaper alternative to imprisonment -- there seem to be differing views on which costs more, and to me it is just an irrelevance.
I also see limits in arguments about "taking a life," because it seems pretty obvious that some lives are different and more valuable than others.
I did decide one thing in response to that long ago murder. I believe that when he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through the right eye of his victim, that the murderer at that moment gave up rights he had over his own life. It is due to the mercy of the society he lived in that he is allowed to live, and subject to the limit on cruel or unusual punishment, the society decides how he will live out the rest of his life. Curiously enough, I do feel a little sorry for the killer (if not for the guy who hired him), and it occurs to me that what he did is marginally less than what the Manson Family killers did.