applepie

I sit here tonight, and I am finding myself in a moral quandry. I believe to my soul that it is wrong to murder another human being. I was raised Catholic and I firmly support the commandment "Thou shalt not kill". So, I ask myself, how is it that I believe murder is wrong, but I sanction the death penalty? I can give a whole list of crimes which I believe should carry a death sentence. The two topping the list are rape and murder.

I generally think that it is possible for someone to forfeit all rights they once claimed. When someone commits a crime that violates someone else's human rights to such as a rape then they in turn forfeit their right to be treated as a human. This opens the window for such harshness as the death penalty. To me, for someone to expect to have their rights acknowleged, they must also be able to honor the same in other people. To be tried underneath the laws of man, you must be able to prove that you follow these laws.

So, my reason for these thoughts. If any of you are living near Seattle, WA then you likely know this story already, but I'll relate it for those of you who don't. In the past few weeks a local man, Adhahn, was arrested under suspicion in the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl. Since his arrest he has been charged with that crime as well as at least two other rapes. One was of an 11 year old girl whom he kidnapped and another was a 15 year old girl who had been in his care.

The city has decided that they are not going to press for the death penalty in the case. For me this is just wrong. This man has not agreed to even give up the names and locations of his previous victims, but they are investigating him for more cases than what he is currently being charged. The basic reoutine is that he would abduct them, rape them, and then either dump or kill them. So why is such a creature being granted the right to live when there is DNA evidence for his crimes?

I'm not saying to kill him as a punishment. The way I see it, his death isn't a punishment for him. It is a means to protect the rest of society from monsters like himself. Why should he be placed in prison where he will have 3 square meals a day, TV, exercise, and other things to occupy his time all at the expense of tax payers when there are poor people on the streets who don't even live so richly? I don't understand why it is that our judicial system chooses to keep such creatures alive. I know many people will argue that they are people too and should be treated as such, but to me they are nothing more than a dangerous creature. You don't keep dogs that bite children alive, you have them put down to keep everyone around them safe. I don't see why it should be a different with people who are a danger to society.

Still, I find that this is a moral issue to me. If we choose to dispose of people who are a clear danger to society, does God absolve us of the guilt for taking their lives? I like to think that this is the case, since I don't consider individuals who commit such crimes to be human, but I don't know if that will keep me out of the fire come my own judgement day. So... I'm left to wonder if I will join the same individuals in Hell one day for my support of their murders, because no matter how I view the death penalty it is still taking the life of another human, therefore it is by definition murder. I wonder if supporting something is viewed in the same light as actually doing it. I generally think it is, since you are encouraging the action, but I don't really know. I guess it is going to be an interesting experience when I meet my own maker.

Take Care,
Meg

P.S. If you wish to read some about the case, go to the Seattle Times and type in a search for Adhahn. There are quite a few articles form the last few weeks.