[Bill Gold]

There are legitimate arguments in favor and against capital punishment and it's something that really can't be adequately observed in a study, since you really can’t know who it deters from crime or if it even does. Personally, I don't care if the death penalty deters crime or not. I don’t think that our society can truly value the human life by condoning the death penalty, especially for people who are pro-life when it comes to abortion (unless their only concern is to try to increase the theoretical 'pro-life' voting block, while not actually caring about the human life itself). It’s ridiculous to think that you can value life by taking one out of vengeance. This doesn’t necessitate moral behavior or thought, in my not so humble opinion it makes you a LESS moral person.

Our prison system is supposed to be intended as a rehabilitation system for criminals and those wrongly convicted (don’t kid yourself by thinking that all people convicted of crimes actually committed them) as well as a punishment. Sadly, the feelings of the majority of Americans don’t seem to parallel the intent of the justice system, not to mention all the inequities that are in plain view within all the other facets of the system (aside from the prison system). As I was told by a prosecuting attorney for the state of California (who happens to be a friend), “if a person wasn’t a criminal heading into prison, they sure are when they come out.” I’m absolutely disgusted by the entire system, and especially capital punishment. Killing people should only be done as a last resort when your own life is at risk, not as a whim, not as a punishment, not as a deterrent, not as a means to get something you want, and most certainly not out of blind vengeance.

In this particular case, I think it’s an even worse mark on our country’s and especially my state’s record since the man was actually giving back to the disillusioned youth, adolescents, and adults who might possibly be lured by the gang life.

-Bill