Response to, "Death and Justice"

      In our society the death penalty has always been and always will be a debatable subject. In the short essay, “Death and Justice”, which can be found on page 534 of The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, the author, Edward I. Koch, discusses his view on this truly touchy subject. He has worked in the public service industry for a large number of years and over those years he has heard the many differing opinions on the capital punishment controversy. While he has heard positive and negative things about the death penalty, he personally is in favor of capital punishment. To illustrate why he is in favor of the death penalty he discusses seven reasons why people tend to find the death penalty unfair. The first reason why people tend to find the death penalty unfair and wrong is because they consider the death penalty “barbaric”. While some may find it a barbaric practice, it tends to be one that is done as humanely as possible. Another reason why people dislike the death penalty is because America is currently the only major democracy that uses the death penalty. Also, people like to question what would happen if an innocent person was accidentally convicted and then put to death. Mistaken identity cases have happened before and without a true confession there seems to always be an element of doubt. Along with this doubt comes the idea that the death penalty actually cheapens the value of human life. If the government is so willing to put these convicts to death, won’t the value of life be lessened? The last three issues that many people have with the death penalty is that it is applied in a discriminatory manner, the bible is against it (Thou shalt not kill), and the fact that the death penalty is basically state-sanctioned murder. While these ideas are all very interesting, the author discusses his main reasons why all of these reasons lack real substance. He explains that the death penalty is only given to those who truly deserve it. If there was no death penalty how would these criminals know there is the harshest form of punishment waiting for them if they take the life of someone else.
    While some may call the author’s opinion hypocritical and the wrong way to think, I personally agree whole heartedly with him. If someone decides to take the life of an innocent individual I believe that the government is totally right to take their life from them. While this may be considered an “eye for an eye” type of way to look at it, I believe it’s perfectly acceptable. If there was no death penalty wouldn’t this give criminals the okay to do as they please? There truly would be nothing stopping them other than the fact that they have to spend their life in jail. For all I know, these people wouldn’t mind spending their life in jail. I always think of it like this, if someone killed someone that I loved, I would want them to be killed as punishment. While some believe an “eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”, I would rather have the whole world be blind than have these disgusting criminals literally getting away with murder.