2008 Woodie Awards
Death penalty needs to be abolished
Gavin Jamieson, Staff Writer
Issue date: 10/24/06
Last Updated: 12/26/07
The United States has possessed the title of world "good guy" since the end of World War II. America was able to identify itself as the bastion of freedom, tolerance and phenomenal economic strength. This attitude was reflected in a 1964 speech when Ronald Reagan told the story of two men saying how fortunate a Cuban refugee was to have been able to escape from Castro's Cuba, and the Cuban replied "How lucky you are! I had someplace to escape to."
In the present day, the United States still has superpower status, but we must be aware that our moral strength and authority is by no means a certainty. This is why the United States should approach the issue of capital punishment from a stance of taking into consideration what sets us apart from the other nations of the world.
In view of the issue of the death penalty I would say that apart from human rights theories, religious motivations and the idea of justice, the death penalty just makes us look bad in front of the rest of the world. I would be more comfortable with the execution of criminals if our system for doing so worked, but in practice it just doesn't do what it is supposed to and in the process damages our world standing. When citizens of the United States chastise China for their infamous procedure of selling the organs of their executed criminals, it hurts us to have them be able to reply that at least China does not get dragged before the world stage to try to explain why they are trying to execute 17-year olds. This was the case in Roper v. Simmons (2005) in which the United States Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional to execute those who had committed their crime under the age of 18.
In describing my opposition to the death penalty as it stands in the United States today, I want to stress that I do not want to be seen as a proponent of criminal's rights over those of their victims. I do not have a problem with locking up murderers for the rest of their natural lives, as this is a commonly accepted practice that doesn't hurt our nation's image. I understand that the debate over the death penalty is a strongly divisive issue but so was the matter of slavery in the United States during the 1800s. At that time the United States faced condemnation from world powers for this inhumane practice, the abolishment of which enhanced America's image and gave us a stronger platform from which to conduct our nation's affairs.
In the present day, the United States still has superpower status, but we must be aware that our moral strength and authority is by no means a certainty. This is why the United States should approach the issue of capital punishment from a stance of taking into consideration what sets us apart from the other nations of the world.
In view of the issue of the death penalty I would say that apart from human rights theories, religious motivations and the idea of justice, the death penalty just makes us look bad in front of the rest of the world. I would be more comfortable with the execution of criminals if our system for doing so worked, but in practice it just doesn't do what it is supposed to and in the process damages our world standing. When citizens of the United States chastise China for their infamous procedure of selling the organs of their executed criminals, it hurts us to have them be able to reply that at least China does not get dragged before the world stage to try to explain why they are trying to execute 17-year olds. This was the case in Roper v. Simmons (2005) in which the United States Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional to execute those who had committed their crime under the age of 18.
In describing my opposition to the death penalty as it stands in the United States today, I want to stress that I do not want to be seen as a proponent of criminal's rights over those of their victims. I do not have a problem with locking up murderers for the rest of their natural lives, as this is a commonly accepted practice that doesn't hurt our nation's image. I understand that the debate over the death penalty is a strongly divisive issue but so was the matter of slavery in the United States during the 1800s. At that time the United States faced condemnation from world powers for this inhumane practice, the abolishment of which enhanced America's image and gave us a stronger platform from which to conduct our nation's affairs.
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