Liberals tournament R1: There Should Be a Death Penalty.

I thank my fellow debator for his arguments, I thank those who are reading the debate. As Con, as a Liberal, today I shall be opposing the death penalty. The Tournament's guidelines state that I mayn't rebut the arguments previously made by Pro - so I shall now continue with my main speech.Firstly, execution is murder. You are killing someone. No matter what they may have done, it is wrong to kill someone, it is not justice, it is cruelty, it is not humane, it is cold-blooded. In 2012, the United States murdered 43 inmates through capital punishment, by the end of the year there were 3,000 inmates on death row. Three thousand is a familiar number. Three thousand is the number of people who died on 11th September 2001. If Al-Qaeda killed that many, and you want to kill that many, what makes you any better than them?One of the most fundamental human rights is the right to life. All humans have a right to life. Yet you, supporters of execution, wish to take away that right from others. Removal of human rights is WRONG. Capital punishment is WRONG. I understand that in the case of a convicted murderer, they too have ended a life and there's this whole 'eye-for-an-eye' palaver, but one of my favourite quotes is from Gandhi: 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'. And he was completely right. We as humans should do our best to help one another so we can prosper as the family we are. Killing each other is not going to help this. Two wrongs do not makee a right. This is not justice. The right to life. Afghanistan, Belarus, Botswana, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Yemen are truly fine figures of a society aren’t they? They are among the poorest countries, the countries with some of the lowest living standards, health standards, human rights track records, life expectancy, the list goes on, and on, and on. Oh… We forgot one: The United States of America. The so-called ‘land of the free’. Free. Free from what? Death? I think NOT. Having the death penalty simply likens the US to countries such as those above. Countries that USED to have execution but no longer use it include: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and - this is my favourite - BRITAIN! Those are truly fine figures of a country: highest GDPs, highest living standards, highest life expectancies, best human rights records. This list, too, goes on and on, and on, and on. So often, the argument about money and cost-effectiveness is brought up about capital punishment. But when people use this argument, I feel sickened. This is a person. This is a father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandfather, granny, son, daughter, wife, husband. This is a real, living person with a real life. And you want to take away their life and take away a bit of the lives of those who love them simply because it's 'cost-effective'. This is truly horrific. This makes you the monster, not the perpetrator.Another great saying: 'justice should punish the perpetrator, not his family'. But if imagine if your mum or dad or brother or sister was to die - killed by your very own government. How would you feel? Distraught? Wrecked? Broken? You'd feel pretty damn awful! The actions of your loved one are almost punishing you as you suffer the pain as a consequence of their actions. This is not justice.In the case of murder, not only will one family have to grieve but TWICE that number. TWO FAMILIES will have to grieve, and you're okay with that?The state has an obligation to fulfil its obligations in the least invasive, harmful and restrictive way possible. Execution is pretty invasive and rather harmful. Prison, however, is not so. It is still a punishment and it is not pleasant at all. But it reforms the perpetrator. Because everyone deserves a second chance, everyone has the right to a second chance. Where you committed murder, rape, treason, whatever: you deserve a second chance. So - what? You commit a crime and that's it, c'est tout, you're done, sentenced to death. The end. Nothing more. You have no second chance. You made a mistake, you made a terrible mistake. And so you shall suffer for eternity? How is this fair? How is this working to reform someone, and reforming them to have a positive impact on society?Almost finished: studies in April 2005 showed that the amount of anaesthetic administered to a victim of the death penalty may not be enough to completely supress the pain felt during a lethal injection and that the punished person is suffering pain whilst undergoing a lethal injection.And lastly, for the family members of the murdered victim or for the victims of rape. I offer this angle. If you want this person to suffer as you suffered then you will surely oppose the death penalty. Which is worse: being locked up in a horrible cell with people you hate for 30 years, or being slowly lowered into blissful darkness as you prepare to sleep forever..? Hm? Which sounds like more suffering? Which sounds like more of a punishment?I'd like to second the thanks afforded to Bsh1 by my opponent for organising this whole affair.I look forward to another round of debate!