The Ethics of the Justice System

        As I was driving home from a recent track meet of mine and interesting story was played on NPR. The story was about the disparity between the death of a victim and the murderer's death. In the case presented, the victim was brutally murdered in a road side ditch after suffering in pain for hours while the murderer was silently and respectfully killed in his sleep. The point was that we give the criminal too much respect in a sense and that they should be treated as they treated their victims.

        I, for one, completely disagree with this sentiment. The idea that the Justice System's purpose is not ruling out justice as the name implies, but instead revenge is an abhorrent stance. By promoting the killing of violent criminals they have reduced themselves to the level of those they are committing. The idea that you become less of a human just because of an action is deeply immoral. This only furthers the idea that humanity is an attributed characteristic, which only leads to the creation of a subclass of humans. No one in there right mind would openly decry that humans not all equal, yet anyone who believes in revenge towards criminals is saying exactly the same thing (this may be a strawman or red herring; I'd appreciate a correction).

        This brings me to my second point. If the justice system is not in the business of revenge, what is it in the business of? The obvious answer would be correction and you would be right. But, in this lies the problem with capital punishment; it doesn't correct anything, it simply redacts the problem. The criminal is never given a chance to defend themselves or show how they've changed. I understand some will probably never change but is that reason enough not to try? Regardless, the fact that some criminals will not change is only evidence that further treatment is required. Killing the criminal is only a sign of laziness on the system. I, for one, would rather not be a part of a society that would rather take the easy route instead of a path thats bound to get results.

        We must not forget that criminals, above all else, are human. When we try an strip this from them we act immorally and unethically. These are terms I would rather not be attributed to a judicial system that represents me.