First, I think that murders, rapists, child molesters and traitors should be put to death. Kill the bastards. The only problem? The death penalty process is run by flawed governmental institutions at the federal and state level. These institutions think it is appropriate to run up a $10 trillion dollar deficit to save us from economic ruin. They can’t run a simple business like the Post Office efficiently ($10 billion in debt each each year, FedEx and UPS are doing great). Do we really want to trust these guys to make life or death decisions? I think not.
If we had a system that could guarantee 100% accuracy, I would support the death penalty for murders, rapists, child molesters and traitors. However, our current criminal justice system does NOT get it right 100% of the time. More than 39 executions in the United States have been carried out despite compelling evidence of innocence or serious doubt about guilt. Since 1992, DNA has exonerated 15 death row inmates.
What I believe we should do:
- Ban the death penalty for federal cases.
- Recommend that states do the same.
Until we can be certain, and I am not sure you can ever be 100% certain, I don’t think we should be killing human beings for crimes. The death penalty is not a mistake you can undo in this lifetime. I guess I am for AND against the death penalty.