THE DEATH PENALTY

 Let's face it, there is only one good reason for the death penalty and that is revenge. It certainly is not a deterrent. The best deterrence for murder (or any other crime for that matter) is the fear of getting caught. And if the odds are something well over 90 percent that you will never be caught, what the heck? You'll get away with it. 

Let's be honest with ourselves: everybody who has a driver's licence has committed and will continue to commit the crime of exceeding the speed limit while driving his/her car. And we all do it because we know that our chances of getting caught are so small that we are hardly taking a chance. It's the same with murder. The people who are murdering people so brazenly by shooting them in bars and other open places are fairly certain that they will never be caught. If they thought for a moment that they would be caught you would see the murder rate plummet overnight. 

But they aren't being caught, and those few "unlucky" ones who are, know that their risk of being actually convicted because of lack of evidence is so small that it is almost not worth mentioning.

But back to the arguments for and against abolishing the death penalty. I understand all the reasoning that proponents of the death penalty put forward, but the truth is that the only valid reason is revenge (or "justice" as some might say).

Look, almost twenty-six years ago a cousin whom I loved like a brother was brutally murdered. The person who gave the order to kidnap and kill him is still walking the streets today as is the policeman who had been hired to do the job as are the 'jefes' in the police force who helped hide the evidence after the crime had been committed. (The evidence that I have is like saying to you prove that I was at your house at midnight last night. You know I was there. I know I was there, but I am going to lie and say that I wasn't, And nobody saw me there except you! So, prove that I was there!) But I would cheerfully hang all of them if I could and then go home and have a big, hearty dinner. But the truth is that although I will very readily concede that there are other very heartless monsters out there, the truth is that no matter what their actual crimes were I could not be the one to pull the lever to hang them even though I would probably agree that they didn't deserve to live.

So does that make me a hypocrite? Probably. But I do recognize that (a) I personally cannot deliberately kill another person and (b) I could easily kill somebody who killed a loved one. In other words, I would want revenge. And I do readily admit to the two very conflicting feelings that are inside me. I suspect that most people think like me too.

So? What do we do? The death penalty is a cruel , harsh and unusual punishment. It can't be justified with any reasoned argument ... except revenge. And revenge is a very powerful argument.

 Maybe the answer to the question of whether or not to abolish the death penalty is that if someone is found guilty of murder that person should have his/her freedom taken away for life. But we should be honest with ourselves and recognize that the ONLY effective deterrent against crime is the fear of getting caught. But sadly, in T&T today your chances of getting caught for any crime is less than your chances of getting a speeding ticket.