We have all heard the saying “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But is a life for a life the same scenario? I know if somebody does something to hurt someone else, we feel it’s only right to get them back for the thing or things they have done.
This is not the right way to go about life, and life should not be a negotiable factor among human beings who live and breathe the same air as many of the so-called criminals who are sentenced by our justice system. Nobody should have that kind of power over someone else.
I’m sure many of you read the article on the front page of The Reflector last Tuesday which concerned a former Mississippi State student who killed his roommate in March 2008. He was sentenced to death on Oct. 31. He was also charged with fraud for stealing money from his roommate’s account.
I understand a life has been taken and a huge void has been left in the lives of those who loved and cared for him, but I don’t understand why this form of punishment was necessary for a crime which is committed quite frequently and is hardly ever punished to that degree. Don’t get me wrong – I agree punishment is definitely in order, but a punishment of that magnitude is very extreme.
There are currently 60 inmates on death row in the state of Mississippi: three women and 57 men, 29 white, 30 black and one Asian. The youngest inmate is 23, and the oldest is 72.
The longest serving death row inmate served approximately 32 years before the date of his death. Think of what the remainder of his life must have been like. He had to wait all that time for death.
According to a legal journal article titled, “Explaining Death Row’s Population and Racial Composition,” 23 years of data show how murder demographics help explain death row populations. Nevada and Oklahoma have the highest death sentence rate, and Texas’s death sentence rate is below the national mean. But Texas, California and Florida are the states which make the most active use of capital punishment.
This article also pointed out African Americans make up approximately 50 percent of death row inmates. They are most often given this form of capital punishment when there is a black defendant and a white victim. Hopefully, racism does not play a role in this, but according to statistics it may be a probable factor.
I know there are some terrible people in this world and not everyone is able to walk freely and live according to the law. I know punishment and enforcement is imperative in a functional society. But it is not right, nor should it be socially acceptable, for any human being to consciously harm another human being.
I know many of you may be thinking that’s the only way to prove to them and to the rest of the world there are consequences for our actions, and some of you may have that attitude I referred to earlier thinking, “If you get me, I’m going to get you.” Personally, I believe in karma. Bad deeds, just like good ones, do not go unnoticed. For everything, there is a reason, and for every action there is a very definite cause and effect.
In many situations, we fail to place ourselves in the other person’s shoes. But just like you put yourself in the murderer’s position, I urge you to place yourself in the family’s position as well. Both families are devastated because no matter what, they are both losing someone they love.
Remember murder is murder no matter how it is examined or looked at. Just like the victim is someone’s child, so is the murderer. A jury choosing to permit death is no different than the choice a murderer made when he chose that knife, selected that poison or pulled that trigger. Will the killing ever stop? What will your choice be? Do you believe death begets death, or will you spare the life of another human being?
Stedmond Ware is a sophomore majoring in biological sciences. He can be contacted at [email protected].