The question of whether capital punishment
is right or wrong is a truly tough choice to make. Capital punishment (death penalty) is legal
because the government of the United States of America says that it is all
right to execute another human being if their crimes are not punishable by
other means. There are many different
forms of capital punishment. Some of the
most popular ones have been hanging, firing squad, electrocution (the chair),
the gas chamber, and the newest lethal injection. In the readings of George Orwell, Edward I.
Koch, and Jacob Weisberg, there are incites to capital punishment that are not
usually thought of or expressed aloud.
Also in the movie "Dead Man Walking," the act of lethal
injection, a form of capital punishment, is presented and made visual for one's
eyes. Both the readings and the movie
hit on emotions that some people have never thought about feeling.
With the many
people in the world there are many different feelings on capital
punishment. Upon reading George Orwell's
"A Hanging," the reader can obviously see that the writer is against
capital punishment. Orwell brings out
many of the points that are considered for argument against the death
penalty. Orwell writes
"It is
curious; but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a
healthy, conscious man. When I saw the
prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable
wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. This man was not dying, he was alive just as
we are alive."
In this quote
Orwell brings out the emotion of knowing that what is being executed may seem
like a monster, but the fact remains that the prisoner is still a human
being. Orwell also brings out the point
that when we were a society that conducted hangings, the executioner would put
a bag over the prisoners head. This was
basically to make it so we didn't have to watch the facial expressions of the dying
because it would make society feel guilty.
Another writer against capital punishment
is Jacob Weisberg. In Weisburg's
"This Is Your Death," the reader must take into account that most of
the public is immune to seeing violence on the TV and that broadcasting
executions live would just be another form of entertainment. Weisberg writes also about the inhumane and
cruel death penalties we have devised to kill criminals. Weisberg tells of the pain and suffering of
the prisoners that goes on during an execution.
Even if one was watching, one may not always be able to see what is
really going on. Weisberg goes into a
deep explanation of the many death penalties.
Upon reading, one may be shocked as to what really goes on in an
execution. For example, the gas chamber
kills people by hypoxia. Hypoxia means
"the cut-off of oxygen to the brain."
One can't understand the pain they are feeling unless one has suffered a
heart attack which has many of the same sensations. Weisberg explains that "all methods of
execution can be botched." If an
execution were to be botched, then that would only mean more pain and suffering
for the one being executed. Weisberg
states that "electrocutions go wrong frequently and
dramatically." An example is while
a prisoner was being electrocuted, the voltage had been lowered to 100 volts
because of a synthetic sponge. At a 100
volts one's body is simply tortured until death. This might seem to come under cruel
punishments.
Another opinion on capital punishment is
conveyed by Edward I. Koch. In Koch's
"Death and Justice," he yields the position of being for capital
punishment. He tries to counteract all
of the points brought about by the arguments against capital punishment. Koch says "it's not the method that
really troubles opponents. It's the
death itself they consider barbaric."
He relates the barbaric act of the death penalty to radical surgery,
radiation, or chemotherapy in attempts to cure cancer. This is a pretty far stretch. Koch also is the first to bring out the fact
that the Bible says it is wrong to kill another human being. Koch disproves this by telling the reader
that the Torah says the death may be used as a punishment. There are many different religions so the
topic of religion is a hard one to use as an argument for or against capital
punishment.
Another opinion on capital punishment is
the neutral position. This position is
covered in the movie "Dead Man Walking." The director helps you to visualize both sides
of the argument without telling you which one to choose. The movie fairly and accurately depicts both
the emotions of the victims family members who are for the death penalty and
also the feeling of the criminal and his family. This is good because it leaves the observer
still in question of what the right choice is if they didn't have an already
formed opinion. In today's society no
one can tell you how you feel. This is a
touchy subject and people will try to influence others, but it all comes back
to the person making the decision for themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment