As of last week, the Dylann Roof case has finally come to a close. The decision was made, and Dylann Roof was sentenced to death for the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting that took place on June 15th of 2016. Through the trials, he was said told to have been laughing, or taking light heart to the lives that he had taken so gruesomely on that day. He even stated that he felt like he had to do it, and still feels as though he has to do it. Many rejoice at the decision that was made by the courts to end the life of the 21-year-old man, but many others argue otherwise.
Death is the ultimate, and worst punishment that we offer in the United States of America for criminal activity. Many believe this to be inhumane, but others argue that it lets people off "easy". Why do they say this? Many feel as though, in the case of Dylann Roof, that he should have to suffer for the crimes that he committed. They believe the only way for him to accurately suffer is to sit in jail for life without the possibility of ever gaining freedom. They feel as though he'll be able to think about his actions for years and years, which is punishment enough. But is it?
On the other hand, we still live in a society that, in a sense, still upholds the "eye for an eye" policy. With this situation, many believe that this is the only way to proceed and progress from this situation. When Dylann Roof began to fire shots in the church, he was told to have pulled the trigger 75 times, killing 9. Dylann Roof's racial views caused him to take these lives seemlessly with absolutely no remorse. With this type of hate, many believe that the only way to solve the issue is death. Deep rooted hate, prejudices and racism cannot be healed, or fixed. The only thing we can do as a society is breed love, and the acceptance of the aspects of humanity that are different from us. But as long as we continue to uphold these age old mindsets of hate, that is all we will ever see. We must also ask ourselves what is the justice that we seek? Is it what brings the family and friends of the vicitims closure or is it to bring society together and allow us to feel safety and trust in what our courts decide? So has justice really been served? Or have we just temporarily taken away one small piece of the greater problem that is before us?
