Outmoded Justice Just Like Rogue Regimes

Yes, the three inmates executed within 24 hours in the U.S. were murderers and there’s no question they belonged in prison. What’s questionable: Does that alone justify the “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” brand of justice?

President Obama questioned the amount of suffering the execution would cause, not the execution itself. The U.S. Constitution guarantees protection from cruel and unusual punishment. Does that not include the death penalty? It’s archaic and uncivilized.

The death penalty hasn’t reduced the murder rate in America; it is not a deterrent. Nothing can bring the murdered victims back. Nothing. Revenge is out of place in a nation of laws.

But nevertheless, we have these executions, as if in defiance and despite all the objections. The political dimension was also ignored. That America constantly links executions with rogue regimes doesn’t appear to occur to it, nor does it realize it makes America no role model for democracy.

After the tragedy in Oklahoma two months ago, Obama declared a six-month moratorium on executions. So much for that.