Three exhausting years after the mass shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, the families of the victims can finally sleep peacefully at night knowing that their loved one’s murderer is behind bars...right?
According to an article from CNN, in Friday’s verdict it was decided that James Holmes, murderer of twelve, would spend his life in prison without opportunity for parole. In order for Holmes to suffer the death penalty, the jury had to come to a unanimous decision that this was, in fact, the best way to punish him. They were only three votes shy of this decision.
Some families did not care that Holmes would not be put to death; they were simply happy that the trial was finally over. Others were rather upset. Some were pulling for the death penalty along with the majority of the jury. They were displeased with the court’s ruling and did not feel like Holmes was accurately punished. They wanted justice for their children, husbands, wives and friends.
With this ruling comes the question of whether or not the death penalty is just. Is the answer to kill the murderer, or is that considered cruel and unusual? Would it be better to lock them behind bars for the rest of their life?
The question we should be asking is how we want to view ourselves as a country. Do we believe we are a civilized nation? If yes, why is the death penalty still an acceptable form of punishment? It is impossible to say how one should mourn the loss of a loved one, but it is possible to say that revenge is not the answer.
Wasn't the time for killing those who hurt us done away with long ago? Have we not yet gone blind from taking an eye for an eye? Paying back murder for murder only leaves us with one more lifeless body to bury. Execution should not have a home in a civilized society.
A single murder has more than just one victim. Death affects everyone who knew and loved the victim. After the loss of a close friend or family member, especially when that person is murdered, it is normal to desire justice. This Justice, however, is different than revenge. Justice is doing what is right and fair, while revenge turns us into a murderer ourselves. Favor for life imprisonment without opportunity for parole is not favor for the murderer. It is called respect for human life. If we lose our respect for human life we have become just like the murderer. If we have decided as a society that life is something to be respected, disrespecting another person’s life is not the way to go, no matter the crime. The death penalty only endorses murder as an acceptable form of punishment—which is exactly the opposite of what we want to be teaching.
One of the bigger arguments for capital punishment is the offer of closure for the victims’ families. All people mourn the loss of a loved one differently. It may give temporary peace, but the thirst for revenge is never satisfied. It may feel good at the time knowing that the person who has caused so much pain no longer has breath in his or her lungs, but that feeling of victory will soon fade. Putting a loved one’s murderer to death will not bring their loved one back, and sooner or later the families will still have to accept their loss.
The families of the victims of the Aurora shooting waited three long years for the trial to finally be over. For that exhausting period of time, they had to constantly relive the death of their loved ones. This case was not something to be taken lightly -- the death penalty is not something to be taken lightly. Once the criminal is executed, there is no going back. What’s done is done. We need to seriously examine ourselves and ask whether or not this is the type of society we want to have-- one where killing people for killing people is an acceptable form of punishment.
