Categories: just-life
Date: 25 April 2006 15:55:11
In New York (so nice they named it twice) a jury is in it's second day of diliberation as to where self-confessed al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui should face life in prison or execition. I'm not sure if this is a his actual trial, or if this is a trial to see what he should be facing when he does go to trial.
Now I fully respect America's right to have the Death Penalty. Their Fifth Ammendment states; "nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;" so with due process of law a person can be deprived of property, liberty and life. Leagally I have no problem with it.
Morally, however, I can not see how a nation that purports to be a Christian country (ignoring the separation of Church and State) can happily execute people. What makes it even harder is the fact that they appeared to have picked the most imhumane ways of doing it;
Lethal Injection - 37 States
Electrocution - 10 States
Gas Chamber - 11 States
Hanging - 3 States
Firing Squad - 2 States
The Death Penalty Information Center' lists the states and what they use. If you have a strong constitution click on the "Botched Executions" button and read through the list of thirtysix examples of where things have not gone as planned. The majority of which are either Lethal Injection or Electrocution (the most popular two).
This in turn makes me wonder why the US uses such methods..... if you were to kill someone quickly and painlessly there are many other methods that can be used. An overdose of pure Heroin kills before the needle can be removed. A guillotine removes the head causing instant death. Seventeenth Century France were more humane with their exectutions than modern day America..... and that almost doesn't surprise me.