Extending The Use Of Ultimate "Justice"

The Bottom Line: If we have to have capital punishment at all, shouldn't it just be reserved for crimes where murder is involved? Doing otherwise might very well create a slippery-slope...

The following was my response to a discussion where a young man was saying that the death penalty should not only apply to crimes involving murder but should also be given to habitual criminals...

I don't believe in capital punishment period--and I definitely don't believe in it for so-called "habitual" criminals. There are some cases where the person is "habitual" because he/she has gotten so used to prison life that it's more comfortable to be there.

Take my friend, Russell, for instance.

If you would read a story I wrote about him by going here:

http://cfetc.blogspot.com/2008/08/iyn-quick-list.html

(where you will also get an obvious answer to the question re: whether or not "habitual" criminals can be rehabilitated)

you'll learn that he hasn't always been on the right side of the law.

Yes, my precious friend, Russell T. Hartsaw, would be one of those people who would be put to death under what you've proposed, and the world would be much worse off without him!

He was incarcerated as an adult for the first time for weaponless bank robbery. When he got out, he felt like a fish out of water, so he actually did an intentionally-botched-up weaponless bank robbery so that he would get caught. He did this at least once more--but, fortunately, he was given the opportunity to finish his education right up through college using correspondence courses and was then given the chance to teach there in the institution.

This--along with consulting with a compassionate and understanding therapist--ended up making Russell more confident in his ability to live as a law-abiding citizen.

When he was out on parole this last time, it was still sometimes tempting to get himself set up for another stay in prison, but he stayed strong and didn't do this.

This was helped along by how several people had taken a liking to him and wanted to help him to succeed.

He's now full-sail-ahead on a mission to help young people who are currently falling through society's cracks to avoid making the same mistakes that he did by giving them the chance for a better life than what they're currently experiencing.

And there are other kinds of being a habitual criminal than robbing banks--and things that might even be legal/decriminalized in a few years such as sale and/or possession of marijuana and prostitution.

At one time, homosexuality was considered to be a crime.

The following are videos of people who would have ended up being put to death (for being caught on the wrong side of the law more than once for more than a traffic ticket) if you had your way:

The first one was never arrested but could have been, and he would have, no doubt, become a repeat offender and, thus, eligible...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WC1OsdX2LM

Two arrests--and almost got life-in-prison the first time around for his victimless crime involving possession of marijuana...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkvKeoWcG0A

No prison sentences for this one, but several different jailings. Would the world have been a better place if society had thrown him away?...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cru2ld06-A

The more people deemed to be throwaways in our society, the more it will trickle up to include even law-abiding citizens who might just be too poor, too handicapped, or too old to be taking up space.

Think about it...