first of all, I am a supporter of the death penalty. I do however think that many people do not consider the degree of sentence this truly is. I think that someone who is caught redhanded, witnessed, or admits to the crime should be killed. They can be as sorry as they want, but they just stole a life, the life of a son, daughter, mother, or father, and that person is never coming back.
If there is a death sentence based on evidence, and not eyewitness acounts or admittance, then there should be a limit to appeals. We must rely on the intelligence and discretion of the judges and juries selected for the process. If after a set # of appeals, then your time is up.
I have another twist to the death penalty that I as a Christian have to consider. For those of you that do not know, "Eye for an Eye" is part of the Old Law, superceded (but not to be done away with or ignored) by the New Law. We are directed by Christ to :Love thy neighbor" This includes such people as Tookie, Timothy McVeigh, and the terrorists that destroyed the Twin Towers. If we kill a person for a deed they have done, and they are not a Believer, we condemn them to Hell. However, if they are given time, and commit their lives to Christ, they will go to Heaven, even though they have committed atrocities. Not to try to convert this topic to a belief discussion, just another thing to think about, if you share my beliefs.
I guess to sum it up, I support the death penalty, but there should be much consideration before it is imposed, and once it is imposed on a person, is shouldn't take us 20 years to kill them, and a lot of appeals.
