Looking Through the Hourglass: An Essay on the Debate of the Death Penalty

Looking Through the Hourglass: An Essay on the Debate of the Death Penalty

Terre Haute Indiana is known for its natural parks and busy commerce. It is a nostalgic place with small shops, and old restaurants. Families travel here to gather in the mall to do their Christmas shopping and couples go on their first date at the local theater. This small city also has an industrial park that employs its inhabitants as well as outsiders. It is a welcoming city, with a lot to do and see. But underneath its polished exterior lies a hushed darkness so few talk about, the Federal Penitentiary. Living in a community with death row at its back door brings up the debate of Capital Punishment. What is right and what is wrong with the death penalty?

The death penalty has been a part of our heritage since the early 1600's. According to The Great American Court Cases by Thomas Gale, "The first recorded use of Capital Punishment occurred in 1608 in the Jamestown Colony, Virginia." Some of the crimes that were punishable by death then are not considered a crime at all today. Adultery is considered immoral but not criminal. Witchcraft is now considered a religion where as in 1608 brought many accused to the gallows. Compared to yester year, Capital Punishment has revolutionized our society into a divided nation of what is right and what is wrong.

Abolitionists of the death penalty believe it is not humane to kill another human being regardless of ones crime. According to the ECPM (End of Capital Punishment Movement), "Modern methods of execution such as lethal injection supposedly avoid the issue of cruelty by its use of 'drugs' to render the inmate unconscious. However, this claim is refuted by a number of medical studies..."