Re: The Death Penalty � the most controversial of subjects -- Alternative Quadrant Message Board

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Subject: Re: The Death Penalty � the most controversial of subjects

Author:
Wyldchilde

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Date Posted: 13:52:34 06/12/01 Tue
In reply to: kat 's message, "Re: The Death Penalty � the most controversial of subjects" on 09:57:37 06/12/01 Tue

>This is exactly the reasoning which compelled Timothy
>McVeigh to plant the Oklahoma bomb, except he was
>thinking of the victims of Waco.

He had said that he would have thought it better if he had started a campaign of assinations against governmental figures, and if he had done that I might agree with your point. Captial punishment is a focused act, a bombing is indiscriminate slaughter.

>He was taught to view the deaths of women and children
>as 'collateral damage' by the US military in the Gulf
>War. Perhaps such inhuman, immoral conditioning took
>it's toll on his sanity.

Every soldier is trained to kill, but not every soldier comes back from combat and begins doing so. So the fault would have ot lie in him.

>Violence begets violence. Not all the relatives of
>the Oklahoma victims wanted McVeigh to die. A justice
>system based upon blood for blood will only prolong
>the culture of apalling dehumanized acts of violence.
>It is also highly questionable whether the death
>penalty brings real closure for the bereaved,
>especially as he showed no sign of remorse.

I have read accounts from victims familes, and they have stated that they felt closure, release, all those things. Maybe not as much as they expected, but would you deny them even that small sense of peace that his death brought?
>
>Imagine what could have been gained by Timothy McVeigh
>being forced to confront the apalling consequences of
>his actions through witnessing the distress of the
>relatives, through actually letting their pain touch
>him? Many of the relatives needed him to feel real
>remorse and say so.

He's had the past 6 years to show any sign of remorse and has not. What would change to make him suddenly care when he hasn't for so long?

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