Tags: Capital Punishment, Islam, muslim
John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind of the sniper attacks that terrorized the nation’s capital region for three weeks in October 2002, was executed Tuesday. Muhammad died by lethal injection at 9:11 p.m. at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, prison spokesman Larry Traylor said. The shootings terrorized the region, as victim after victim was shot down while doing everyday chores: going shopping, pumping gas, mowing the lawn. One child was shot while walking into his middle school.
I’d like to say that justice was served, but it still makes me sick to my stomach every time I hear of someone being executed, just imagining the last minutes of someones life, walking into a room knowing they will never leave it. I think that the United States should move past barbaric government justified killings, but as good Christians, we have to carry out the “morals” of the bible, an eye for an eye right? It just seems to me that as a civilized country, we shouldn’t be executing our citizens. In the European Union, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits the use of capital punishment.
Look at the statistics, in number of people executed per year, we are right in the company of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Is this really a list that we as Americans can be proud of?
| Country | Number |
|---|---|
 China |
At least 5000 |
 Iran |
At least 346 |
 Saudi Arabia |
At least 102 |
 North Korea |
At least 63 |
 United States of America |
37 |
 Pakistan |
At least 36 |
 Iraq |
At least 34 |
 Vietnam |
At least 19 |
 Afghanistan |
At least 17 |
 Japan |
15 |
 Yemen |
At least 13 |
 Indonesia |
10 |
 Libya |
At least 8 |
 Sudan |
At least 5 |
 Bangladesh |
5 |
 Belarus |
4 |
 Somalia |
At least 3 |
 Egypt |
At least 2 |
 United Arab Emirates |
At least 1 |
 Malaysia |
At least 1 |
 Mongolia |
At least 1 |
 Singapore |
At least 1 |
 Syria |
1 |
 Bahrain |
1 |
 Botswana |
1 |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1 |
Source: http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/index.php?tipotema=arg&idtema=12000547
How can one say our justice system is impartial when in most of the cases, the race of the victim is the basis for issuing the death penalty? How is justice served when prosecutors time after time use their ambition and desire for power to “push” the death penalty regardless of the circumstances? Justice is in direct contradiction of the death penalty. We live in the 21st century. We claim enlightenment of all humankind yet we use the same ideas and beliefs that we have held for thousands of years – the Christian and Muslim belief of “an eye for an eye.”
Capital punishment does not deter crime, it provokes it. Capital punishment does not seek justice. Capital punishment is murder. We as a society are guilty of a capital crime. What is our punishment?
Are you serious?
The death penalty isn't barbaric, its compassionate for the victims and their families. The families of the victims need to know that justice has been served. And if you don't think that is justice I want you to think about the terror and pain that he caused the victims' families. They lost a loved one that will never come home. Other people were afraid to leave their houses for fear that they might be killed next.
Lets look at Mr. Hassan of Fort Hood fame… Do you think he had any compassion on those who he gunned down indiscriminately? What about the terror of those who saw their friends being gunned down right in front of them, wondering if they would be next. Do you really think its fair to allow him to live and not feel the same fear that he brought to others?
I'm sorry if you feel ashamed that we are in the same echelons as North Korea, Pakistan & Iraq but stop to think about how many people each country has in comparison to our population…
Pakistan – 166,036,895
North Korea – 23,858,295
Iraq – 23,900,720
United States – 304,059,724
We have more people living here than the other 3 countries combined. If we were REALLY on par with them, we would need to have between 72 death penalties per year for Pakistan and 450 for North Korea and Iraq. We're not even close to what you're comparing us to.
I challenge you to truly put yourself in the place of a mother or father who lost their son or daughter in either of these rampages and see if you wouldn't want to see justice done.
I don't believe murdering a murderer is justice, that is just my belief, but thank you for your opinion
What about all the people the church murdered during the inquisition? Should all the families of those people think like that, that is, an eye for an eye. Should they all now rise up and murder Christians? NO.
And what about the fallibility of our justice system? It is not perfect, therefore it is not always right. Meaning innocent people are executed by the United States. How many innocent people murdered by the state does it take to justify murdering the murderers?
Civilized countries and civilized people don't murder. The more religious the country the more they murder.
After all God told the Muslims to murder the infidels. God to the Christians to murder all the people in one city including the women and the children. I guess I can see, if you believe in God, that you also believe in murder.
Embaressing to suggest the state executing a guilty murderer is the same thing as murder. Perhaps the state imprisoning a guilty robber is the same thing as kidnap. Or maybe tax is the same thing as theft. Or maybe, just maybe – the state has a unique moral status that we give it to attempt to keep peace, redistribute wealth and administer justice.
" Civilized countries and civilized people don't murder. The more religious the country the more they murder. "
No, but when "civilised" people stop their governments executing their worst human rights offenders (murderers and rapists) they notice that the number of murders is their country shoots up. Presumably that's a sign of a 'civilised' society, one that is quite happy to let more innocent people die – so long as the guilty are left unharmed.
Those of you who lean against the death penalty must confront the very real possibility that abolishing it could lead to the violent deaths of unknown numbers of innocent men, women, and children. And if there is much doubt about the deterrent effect:
From 1966-1980, a period which included your last national moratorium on executions (June 1967- January 1976), murders in the United States more than doubled from 11,040 to 23,040. The murder rate also nearly doubled, from 5.6 to 10.2/100,000. During that 1966-1980 period, the US averaged 1 execution every 3 years, with a maximum of two executions per year. From 1995-2000 executions averaged 71 per year, a 21,000% increase over the 1966-1980 period. The US murder rate dropped from a high of 10.2/100,000 in 1980 to 5.5/100,000 in 2000 — a 46% reduction. The US murder rate is now at its lowest level since 1966 (17).
I've looked at the statistics thoroughly. I do not find a correlation between murder rates and the death penalty.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-…
Thanks for commenting.
i am definitely against capital punishment , it goes against our basic human rights , more specifically our right to life , after all isn't death an easy way out , wouldn't life imprisonment be worse , since the person has the deal with his/her guilt for an entire life time . Another reason I'm against the death penalty is it has largely religious implications , both the bibble and (especially) the koran allow it , and every time before a person is sentenced he or she is given their last rites often by a priest or imam or whoever it is that is the mediator ( charlatans.. in my opinion ) for that particular persons faith , so he or she can make peace with his/her respective god/deity , which makes me wonder , whether most people belief the death penalty is a fitting punishment because the condemned will spend an eternity of torment in the bowls of perdition . I think most people in general are against it atheist or not , in fact ironically religious countries or non secularist nations tend to enforce the death penalty more than the japans , frances and australias of this world . Its kind of odd that most secular countries don't enforce this barbaric and inhumane punishment , since most people are under the delusion that morality cant exist without religion . In iran stoning is still legal , in saudi arabia a woman is due to be beheaded for witchcraft , but the middle east is not alone ( although they are the most macabre of the lot ) , the death penalty is a global issue a lot of countries still practice it , sadly . It doesn't make sense to take someones life . because it wont bring back the life of another . So yea, in a nutshell , I am staunchly against it , and I'm sure most atheists are as well , its the 21st century, not the medieval ages , if the government takes peoples lives , what kind of example are they setting for its people . The death penalty gives peace to the victims family ?? , now that is not a valid argument , if that statement is indeed true , then I guess it clearly goes to show that we live in a pessimistic , callous and depraved society , should we really be encouraging people who believe killing another human being that has wronged them , gives them peace of mind ?? , if your answer is yes , then i strongly feel sorry for you and for the world , its sad that in a modern society such bloodthirsty people still exist . Killing another man will not bring back the deceased , it just gives you another cadaver to deal with.