Once more I find myself sitting on the fence regarding the issue of capital punishment due to two high profile cases in the news. Generally my political stance has been to believe no one should be put to death in spite of the legality of the law saying it is o.k. to do so. Now, however, I find myself ambivalent.
Last week a woman, Teresa Lewis, was put to death in Virginia for ordering the murders of her husband and stepson--all for money. To me this case was particularly unfair for several factors. She did not actually carry out the murders herself, she was a woman (yes, I know that I typically argue for equal rights for women), and she had an IQ of 72. I believe life in prison, as her colleague in crime received, was justifiably the better decision.
On the other hand, the news media have been engrossed with the crime and its horrid details of the Petit family in Connecticut in 2007. Here a mother and her two daughters were raped and set on fire while still alive. Her husband escaped narrowly after a severe beating, but he was unable to save his family. As is typical, both of the defendants are blaming the other for the most heinous of the events. To me this case is one that requires me to rethink my position on capital punishment. If there was ever anyone who needed to be put to death, it is these two.
I believe I would speak for the majority of Americans. It is a complex topic as we all know.
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