I woke up this morning to an MSNBC alert on my iPhone that Lily tried to read to me but got caught up on the word 'executed'. The alert said that the 9/11 plotter that was currently on trial, was going to be executed after the trial ended.
After Lily handed me the phone and I read it out loud to her, she asked "what does executed mean?" I told her it meant to be put to death and what this alert meant was that one of the very bad people responsible for plotting 9/11 was going to die.
She answered "good." She went on to say "I don't want anyone hurting anyone in the United States, not even the robbers because maybe some of the robbers in the United States are even nice."
I had just had a conversation involving execution and the death penalty with a colleague last week at work. My colleague is from London and is vehemently opposed to the death penalty.
She was horrified when I said I was not opposed to it depending on the circumstances. I fully believe that if someone takes someone else's life and there are eye witnesses to it with not a shadow of a doubt, than that person deserves to die.
I referenced the bible and an eye for an eye. She talked about no one person being able to decide when another person should die. She said people in Europe thought the U.S. was barbaric for having a death penalty and that Japan was the only other country that also had a death penalty.
I said I would have no problem AT ALL watching someone die that did something horrible to a member of my family and that the government would have to move very quickly or Drew would most likely beat them to it.
Our conversation continued on for twenty minutes and when we finished, I was to some degree re-thinking my strong stance as she did have some compelling arguments. One argument was that you never know what circumstances someone has encountered in their life. And to take their life for taking someone else's, morally is not right. What she does believe in, is limiting that individuals existence to the lowest conceivable level.
Having them sit in a cell twenty-four seven, not being able to read or watch television or go out and socialize in a courtyard. Not being able to study religion or penal codes, just to simply rot in jail. I mentioned the cost to maintain these inmates and she came back with "you can't put a price on someone's life".
And I came back with "but what about the life that person took?" What about what that criminal deprived that victim and their families of? What about that? And maybe if someone knew if they killed someone they too would die, maybe they wouldn't do it.
Another argument she had was what about the people that have been wrongly convicted for whatever reason whether it be politically motivated or racially motivated. Whatever. What if someone is truly innocent? Someone who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time or who couldn't afford a master mind attorney to get them off.
It was alot to think about and I did decide that I wouldn't necessarily just say that I am for the death penalty without some serious consideration for the facts of the case. I do still believe that if someone unequivocally commits a heinous crime against another human being they do deserve to die. That I can not deny because I do believe they shouldn't be able to live and breath if they took that from someone else, but maybe I won't say it so easily.
Lily's initial response as an innocent and sweet six year old was "good." We have never discussed this issue before but her initial response was good. Do most people feel that way or do most people fee like my friend? I don't know the answer to that, I just know that my six year old had exactly the same instincts as I did when she heard that news.
Was that heavy enough for a Sunday morning?
