Recently, Troy Davis
Nobody learns anything from Capital Punishment. Obviously the murderer doesn't learn anything, (he/she is dead). Unless, assault weapons (excluding riffles, bows and arrows, and crossbows) are banned from the general population, the death penalty will not work.
Yet, as of April 1st., 2008 the death penalty was authorized by 37 states, the federal government and the U.S. Military. Jurisdictions without the death penalty include 13 states, and the District of Columbia (Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin). 2
Unless all assault weapons are banned, people will not learn anything by someone being put to death. The idea behind capital punishment is to set an example; however, as long as there are guns, this idea falls flat.
Americans seem to think that it is their god given right to own a gun. This is wrong. Religion is about peace, and love, not about guns. (This is not to say there is one god, and that Americans only believe in God: Christianity is not the only religion, and some people, like myself, believe in science, and that the bible is a story, and is meant to teach people how to be good to one another.)
Think about it. Is Capital Punishment right? Unless attitudes in the U.S. change, gun laws will not be changed, and the death penalty will not be removed.
1 http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-Death-Row-Inmate-Put-to-Death-Despite-International-Outcry-130344788.html
2 http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/dpusa.htm
