Timothy McVeigh

[patrickrd]

First, I disagree with the wording with your polls. Like virtually all media polls, the reader is asked to choose a reason along with their answer. In a case where the reader doesn't really understand their own opinion, they will choose whichever reason seems to sound more favorable to them. What if I did believe in the death penalty, but not because it is a suitable form of punishment? What if I believed in the death penalty because I believe it saves innocent lives? What if I don't believe in the death penalty because I think it makes the executioners mentally unstable?

That being said, I truly do not know whether we should execute people or not. In our type of society, a republic, we choose to live be certain laws, and accept the restrictions associated with these laws. In return, we have a more "civilized" society and gain more control over what we want to do with our lives. We gain certain protection from others. I believe laws and morals are arbitrary but necessary. Without common morals, chaos results and it becomes very difficult to choose how to live your life. Likewise, I don't think it matters if we have a death penalty or not. However, let's be consistant. If we're going to execute people, make sure it becomes known that if you commit a serious crime, we have no obligation to feed you and keep you alive, and you will be killed. If we're not going to execute people, then let's come up with a solution that locks up these people for good, and let's make sure every law is enforced completely.