Defending the Truth

We aren't omnipotent and certainly aren't in a position to judge what is precious or not. Until we have experienced everything that the accused has, we don't know them. I'm not into judging the fate of humanity or one human, just removing the threat they create. We don't know what a person's value is, because we don't know everything.

Unrepentent killers have no value. It doesn't take an omnipotent being to figure that out.

They are many who thought that Jesus had no value, and was a trouble maker and rebel. They thought they knew what was right, and he was executed. How many Christians agree with that judgement? I'm just saying we are not all seeing or even all understanding. And many times, innocent people are executed. That is totally unacceptable, and should be enough to do away with the death penalty.

Again, I see a moral disconnect in that position.

My moral compass tells me that torturing someone for the rest of his/her life is worse than executing him/her.

My common sense -- not to mention numerous psychological studies -- tells me that isolating someone from virtually all human contact is psychologically tortuous.

In the choice between lifetime isolation and execution, I see execution as the moral high ground.

Then I hope we can agree to disagree. Including the torture part.

Life in prison may be awful but it isn't torture.

I don't believe we have the right to take another life, except in self defence, no matter how angry and reviled we feel about the crime.

That is basically what I meant. While some people might think it's torture to be in prison, there are many, many, worse things that could happen. I don't think it's torture to removed from society when you have committed what it considers it's most heinous crime.

If those prisoners are there because they were unable to be controlled, then it is their own faults. As far as the ones who are sent there from the start, I can't say. But I still think that they could find ways to keep from going mad. John McCain did okay, and many others have as well. If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime.