I was watching a show (think it was L&O) and it was about a teenager that was 18 who was being sentenced to the death penalty. The lawyers were on opposite sides of the table. Some thought he was too young to be sentenced to the death penalty while the others felt it was the law and he did the crime so he should be treated like everyone else.
First let me make the disclaimer that I personally do not believe in the death penalty. I feel as if it is a band aid (sometimes not even that), for those who were traumatized by whatever the person did, but in no way is it a punishment. How are they suffering if they are dead? Life in prison without chance of parole EVER is just fine with me.
However, my opinion on whether the death penalty is moral or not isn't why I decided to write this. While watching, one of the lawyers made the point that how come everyone wants to harp on him being 18 and so young now, when he isn't too young to be drafted into the military, carry a gun, and kill people.
I agree. I feel as if in life, period, we stamp people as being "too young" for certain things and not others. Just like the drinking age. An 18 yr old is too young to drink and is not considered adult in that matter, but once again is allowed to go to war and fight for our country or can be tried as an adult in court and sentenced to death.
What do you think? Are we a country that likes to make up rules as we go and choose which criteria to apply when it best makes our case?
This is a country that makes up rules as we go, but then again times change so I guess in all fairness rules have to eventually change. Like the drinking age used to be 18 back in my parents time. But for whatever reason, with the new generations coming in they felt the need to change it to 21, after college years (which still doesn't stop kids from drinking anyway).
ReplyDeleteAnd, I myself don't believe in the death penalty, I feel the same way as you. Let them suffer in jail, killing them is the easy way out.
In other countries, if you steal, you hand gets chopped off. Now that is what I call punishment.
@La La - I am late but LOL! Right, I would do NO wrong in some of them other countries. Your punishment is tied to your crime. You speak something blasphemy and they cut your tongue off, steal and hands come off!
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