Human Writes is a NGO which befriends people on death row in the USA, giving these men and women a 'burst of sunshine' in their dark, lonely, cell filled lives.
I am against capital punishment because I think that too many mistakes have been made in the past and innocent people can lose their lives. However, I (and this may come as a shock to many of you) believe that a criminal should suffer for the crime they have committed. If someone has murdered, raped, abused, tortured (the list goes on) a small child, a young woman, an old man they should, in turn, suffer. If this means sitting in a cell with little light and no human interaction for the rest of their lives then so be it.
What Human Writes does is in essence a lovely thing - forgiving and giving hope to those that deserve it the least. But for some reason, I just can't find it in myself to even contemplate forgiving these people.
This discussion can also be extended to a broader one about the justice system in general. I don't believe that mentally ill or disabled people should be on death row - clearly they need special attention in a psychiatric hospital. I believe everyone should be given a fair trial - innocent until proven guilty (although it seems to work the other way around these days). BUT, my current view is that those who end up on death row must have committed a truly horrendous crime. If they made their victim suffer, then why shouldn't they suffer?
"An eye for an eye" OR should I learn, through Human Writes to "But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39)
My friend Malou offers a different version, read her blog to find out her thoughts on Human Writes.
S
I am against it because
ReplyDelete1. Life is sacred.
2. So many mistakes are made. I read in the French newspaper today that 136 people (if I remember correctly) have been found innocent after they were killed. Just awful.
PS. I'm enjoying your blog, keep it up!