By Martha Helms
The day the Supreme Court struck down capital punishment was the day that America crossed from a barbarian nation to a civilized one. True, murder still exists in this country, but at least it is not condoned by the national government.
When a society permits the judgment of whether a person’s deeds are so evil that extermination is the only solution is when a society admits its own defeat. Criminals are not born evil; the environment molds them in that direction. Therefore, society is responsible for crime and when a society condemns a person to death it is admitting failure in its purpose. Capital punishment symbolizes that society cannot solve the problem of delinquency so it will dispose of the problem and the criminal.
Historical events are ample proof that once governmentally-condoned death is established, whoever is in control of the punishment is, in fact, a human god. Hitler’s persecution of the Jews is a prime example of what could happen with a little propaganda. There is also the possibility of an innocent person being found guilty and being punished for a crime he did not commit. There is always the possibility of an innocent person being framed and sent to take the blame.
Upsurging crime and lawbreakers average the citizen to find an easy solution — but when is death a suitable solution? We are not God with an omniscient power, but fallible, corruptible human beings. To put death on the open market would be to return to the “kill or be killed” logic of pre-civilized society.