An Interesting Dilemma

To decide who lives and who dies is a debate that has gone on for some time. It gets more complicated when the question comes up again at the time the person, who has already had a decision made upon them, comes up on his/her time to be put to death. Typically, it takes some time (except in Texas where they like to kill the handicapped, blacks and latinos as quick as possible) before a person on death row actually is put to death; thank the appeal process for that. So, the question is this: If that person now does "God/Yaweh/Vishnu/Allah's" work and is a contributing member of society once again, should that person still be put to death or should the sentence be commuted to life imprisonment without parole?

I actually hesitated when I tried to answer that question today as I read this story. As a Catholic, I am supposed to be against the death penalty, abortion, pre-marital sex and all sorts of woes and ills that plague the Earth. The issue is that I am not a blind faith kind of person and the hypocrisy so present in religion, especially my own, lends me to temper the rigid structure of church and bring in some reality. That said, I am of the belief that murderers and scum (rapists, child molesters, etc.) give up their right to live when they commit these acts. They did not show mercy or kindness on their victims. Why should their request for it in their last hours be granted?

There has been a few movies and shows in Hollywood that tackled the subject of what one would do if time travel was possible and you could go back and, say, stop Hitler. The question that the show/movie has to answer is "Would you do it?" The answer is always 'no" because the consequence of changing such a powerful event in history could have disastrous effects on the current future. Say, for example, you killed Hitler allowing someone much worse to live that otherwise would have died. It is a definite conundrum that us mere mortals cannot currently solve.

I stand by my firm stance that as long as there is no doubt, then let the punishment fit the crime. Remember, every person that is in jail claims that they are innocent. I for one say, "Prove it."

Peace.

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