Capitol Punishment

Thank you once again, MissPiggy, for this debate. I will first address Pro’s R3/R4 arguments/cross-examination then move to my conclusion.Pro does not seem to object to the theory of criminal law being about rationale punishment rather than vengeance but rather argues from the finality of murder, setting it apart from other crimes. She does however miss my point that capital punishment is far from uniformly applied. If I’m an innocent black man in Texas who is accused, I’m far more likely to be executed than in any state north of the Mason-Dixon Line. If I was retarded, black, and innocent even more so, but I digress. If my family member was murdered, I would feel like Elizabeth Brancato – understanding of the emotions of revenge but ultimately seeing justice as more important. I can’t imagine being murdered and even if I could it’s a useless exercise, I’m already dead; justice would have to serve the living. To answer Pro’s other question, there is zero proof that capital punishment acts as a deterrent and Pro has provided none.My supposition that you do not have enough experience with the criminal justice system to have yourself speak as an expert on the conditions of incarceration stand. I sincerely doubt you know people who commit crimes solely to duck their responsibilities. And murder has many causes besides the criminal being “insane”; that was just one criminal’s perspective on why other criminals might enjoy prison. There has been a trend in this recession for people to kill their families because they can’t deal with the stress of unemployment and hunger [1]. There is also the many cases of post partum depression that makes the news every so often of a seemingly normal woman killing her children. So, no, insanity is not necessary to murder. A government that takes a life most certainly does not value it. Look at the many useless wars that the US has been engaged in, the rise in euthanasia and abortion. The value of life is not a value I believe the US upholds to maximum. Justice cannot and should not rely on vengeance. To do so would mean that the most vocal and sympathetic victims get the most justice and such a system is inherently unjust. Killing a little girl isn’t just but neither is killing someone in her name..-== Conclusion ==-.If one truly values life, then one must value all life. Life has intrinsic value in that your life or my life's value isn't determined by anyone or anything else. It is valuable in and of itself. It is the disconnection between the intrinsic value of life that has led the US to be so far outside the rest of the civilized world with respect to capital punishment. If we allow that any life doesn't hold intrinsic value, then the value will be held meaningless as applied the whole of humanity. If we allow that the retarded or poor are worth less then we cheapen all of humanity. We must uphold the value of all life by upholding the value of each individual life.However, capital punishment puts life on a scale and tries to balance that the murderer’s life is less valuable than the victim's. Thus, capital punishment does not value all life. A society that fails to uphold the value of life ultimately devalues it. The US stands alone as the only country that has Capital Punishment and yet supposedly respects human rights. We must become a more just society and that should be reflective in our punishments for severe crimes.My opponent has provided nothing but her opinions on what is fair to this debate. While I respect her opinion, it should be backed by evidence if it is to be debated. Thank you gentle readers, I have enjoyed my time with you and thank you Pro for taking the time to discuss this with me.Sources:[1] http://www.thedailybeast.com...