Crime and Punishment

Let's talk capital punishment.

John Allen Muhammad (perhaps better known as the "D.C. Sniper" or "Beltway Sniper") is set to be executed in Virginia tonight. Although I was still in college and was living approximately 400 miles from Washington, D.C., I was gripped by the story of these random shootings, and remember following the coverage closely. I vividly recall seeing "breaking news" reports of shootings outside a Home Depot, a shopping center, a Ponderosa, a school, and gas stations. In those weeks, people were actually scared to get out of their cars to pump gas. Unbelievable.

By the time Muhammad and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, were arrested, they had killed 10 people, and injured three others.

And tonight, Muhammad will pay the price for his crimes--like his victims, he too will die.

So here I sit, debating the issue of capital punishment in my mind. It's an issue for which I don't have strong feelings either way. Or I guess it's more accurate to say that I identify with both sides.

I understand the need for justice. In this case, Muhammad took 10 lives, so isn't it fair that his life also be taken from him? Perhaps.

I'd like to think that life in prison is a much harsher punishment, but I suppose it depends on the circumstances. I don't know much about prison life for people convicted of murder, but I know that I've heard things about how prison "isn't that bad," and "some prisoners have it better than we do." Yada yada yada. I honestly don't know how much of that is true.

The other thing is that I'm not sure life in prison is the punishment I hope it would be for people who are incapable of feeling remorse. Let's take Scott Peterson for example. I would love to think that sitting in his jail cell for the rest of his life--in a prison that overlooks the very bay into which he dumped his pregnant wife's body--would be the ultimate torture. I would like to believe that he thinks of the beautiful wife and baby boy that he killed, and that having to live with that is punishment enough. But he still denies the crime. He doesn't seem sad. He, too, will be put to death for his crimes.

In a situation where the murderer is a sociopath, or has other mental issues that prevent him/her from feeling remorse or regret, compassion or sympathy... is the death penalty a better answer then? Is taking away "freedom" a harsh enough punishment? What about those who are sentenced to life in prison, but then get paroled?

For those who believe in Heaven and Hell, the ultimate punishment comes after death. Can I argue with those who want that fate to come more quickly for the murderer? Not really.

Frankly, I sort of wish that these decisions were left up to the victims' families. Not the convictions, obviously... but the choice between life in prison and death. The families are the ones who will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives because of what was taken from them. So doesn't it make sense for them to decide the fate of the person who robbed them of a future with their loved ones? It won't bring their loved ones back, but I think that if one of these options will help them to sleep better at night, they should get to choose.

I'm sure that many of these family members would feel much like I do--that death is the "easy" way out, and that letting the murderer rot in prison for the rest of his/her life is preferable. But given that for me, this is a (thankfully) hypothetical scenario, it's hard to say how I would feel if I were actually in those shoes. Trying to imagine it, I can also see the other side. I could see how I would be so filled with rage that I would want that person to pay, to "suffer" in the same way that my loved one suffered. An eye for an eye.

I see both sides.

And I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer.