As I think about the death penalty a number of questions come up. Why do we execute a person? If we execute a person just kill him because he did something bad, then it is revenge. Revenge is wrong, an eye for an eye…soon we are all blind and toothless.
Execution as a deterrent serves a purpose…to be a deterrent they must be public. Hiding them in a small room somewhere reduces it again to revenge; all it does is render the person dead. March every kid in trouble with the law into the room and make them watch it, and an execution becomes a deterrent, a body hanging from a tree outside of town was a deterrent, a strong deterrent.
Loren49’s comparison of the US’s incarceration rate to other countries seems a bit lacking. The political prisoners in China are still prisoners. But more important what is a prison in China like compared to one here in the states, “three hot’s and a cot”.
When a person is told “No, you should not do that.” but sees that little is done to those that do it he sees that it is OK. Nothing happened to them so nothing will happen to me.
If a person is put in prison to pay their debt to society make them work, and work hard. A five year old seeing a road gang in a ditch will learn that the bad guys do get punished.
My daughter and I live in south FL we do not use the AC or heat, we save our money. People lived a long time before AC was invented, why prisoners should be coddled?
When my son was 9, my daughter was in the hospital. There was a young girl on the same floor; someone had slipped some LSD in her soda at a church social. She had flashbacks and would start screaming and go completely hysterical. They used huge leather straps on her to keep her in the bed. When my son came to visit with his dad I took him for a walk, I wanted him to see what drugs do to a person. As luck would have it she had a flashback just as we passed the room. We watched. As we walked back to the room he said, "You did that on purpose didn't you. I told him, "Yes, now you have seen what drugs can do. I cannot stay with you every minute of your life I hope that will help you make the right decision." He did.
I was a tough mother; I am proud of my kids. What we need now is a tough government, so we can be proud of our country.