“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." - Matthew 5:38-39
(I don't want to get too much off topic explaining how I got to this topic but..... ) I was on abcnews earlier today and came across this article, Death Row Bloggers Get Help From Victims. The article mentioned and had a picture of Thomas Whitaker - his name and story were familiar to me as his dad, Kent, wrote a book, Murder by Family, which I've read (so insane).
Thomas Whitaker was mentioned in the article as one inmate who has started a website/blog with help from his dad and a few others. He cannot get online himself so others run the site and upload his writings for him. So I clicked the link to Minutes Before Six and skimmed through some posts until I came across The Killing Machine by Ronald W. Clark, Jr, #812974.
And he made some gripping statements...
"Human’s blood lust for vengeance seems to over ride human decency. And the death penalty is an act of revenge, the thirst for death. One day a time will come when a more civilized society will look back on us with the same contempt and disgust as we have looking back at the murders and executions of the Roman Empire. But until that day the killing machines in America will continue to spit bodies out because of our blood lust for vengeance."
"I knew what was going on under me. Murder in the fraudulent name of equal Justice! Bull----!! It’s not Justice, it’s freaking revenge!!"
I guess it's always something that has bothered me. Do we find any peace in treating people the way they've treated us? The justice system condemns someone for murder... and what's the answer?.. murder the murderer.
I know it's silly to think we can pound the gavel and yell "forgiven" each time someone convicted of a crime walks into the courtroom.... ridiculous to even hint at the idea of letting guilty killers back into our safe neighborhoods....
But somehow I feel that punishing them with the same thing they were condemned for doesn't add up. But maybe that's just me... I've never believed that it's a human's right to say when it's time for another human's life to end.
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