Have any of you read, "Dead Man Walking" by Helen Prejean? I had seen the movie and had been moved. I read the book and became fascinated with this woman. I admired her for her work, she saw many inmates to the death chamber.
The book is dry in places because of the legal mumbo jumbo but she uses a lot of scripture to back her opinion. She is very much against the death penalty.
It took me a week to get through what is typically an afternoon book for me. That's because I kept refering to other books and scriptures she quoted. It really gave me an insight into the death penalty and made me think of points of view that before had escaped me.
I have been on both sides of the issue. I have worked in the correctional system (not with death row inmates), I have had someone in my family commit what I considered murder and I have had a family member murdered.
I believe in the death penalty. I do not advocate it, however because it costs so much money. According to Prejean, it costs 2-3 times the amount to carry out the death penalty than it does to keep an inmate in Maximum security for life (typically 25-30 years). This is due to all of the appeals processes and the costs of lawyers, investigators etc.
I do not believe in the way the death penalty is handed down. Prejean had another great point when she spoke about how the death penalty is handed out. There are no rich people on death row. Poor people can not afford a good defense, they do not know the "right people" and they don't have the money to buy judges off.
I hope you all will check the book out and read it carefully. If nothing else, it makes for a great conversation/debate.