Joseph Smith, the man who raped, brutalized, and strangled an 11-year old girl in Florida will likely be sentenced to death with the jury's recommendation. The deceased girl's mother is happy with the jury's decision because she wants this man to die. I cannot imagine her pain, but I have to agree with the defense attorney (as I do in most death penalty cases) that killing off Joseph Smith is not going to make her feel better. The man is more than disgusting and deserves punishment for his nauseating acts, but lethal injection is more like a relief than a punishment. If I were in his shoes, I would prefer the death penalty to life in prison because inmates do not take kindly to men who harm children. He would suffer more and be brutalized longer himself if had to spend his life without parole in prison. While I know many people are pro-death penalty because they say it saves tax-payer money and it is fitting for certain crimes, I tend to fall on the side of pro-life for all forms of life, even the scummy ones. This man is going to die a gentle and humane death. If the mother really wants an eye for an eye, then the death penalty is not what this man deserves. An eye for an eye would be brutalization and a violent death, like the kind of death that his victim endured. Of course, even if she herself inflicted pain on this man, nothing would make her own emptiness and pain go away. Her daughter is gone. What happened to her daughter will not change. She wants to avenge her daughter's death by making sure that her killer dies, but no punishment on this earth will satisfy the mother's anger and aching. It's human nature to want vengeance, but we are left even emptier when we realize that vengeance is futile in relieving us because vengeance will never restore what was lost. The man deserves punishment, I am not arguing that, and he deserves his punishment to be severe. What I am arguing is that the death penalty is not severe enough.
Posted by Kim at December 2, 2005 11:08 AMI agree with you Kim. I think that while we're all hear on earth, it's sort of hypocrytical to call yourself pro-life yet be for killing the worst criminals. They should be punished and in most cases severly, but it will not make a bit of difference to the victim's loved ones. It will only mean one more death and one less chance to learn what sick delutions make people comit these types of crimes. I do think that the justice system in the US is failing to do what it was meant for, but that gets into overcrowding and understaffing of prisons and lack of police, correctional personal and councelors. In my opinion, when someone commits a crime, they should be tried according to the law of land, Taken off the streets, be made to do something useful with their time in jail, and then let God deal with them when they die. He is a JUST God.
Posted by: teri at December 3, 2005 01:27 PM