Retribution

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Retribution When someone takes a life, the balance of justice is disturbed. Only

the taking of the murderer's life restores the balance and allows

society to show convincingly that murder is an intolerable crime which

will be punished in kind.

Retribution has its basis in religious values, which have historically

maintained that it is proper to take an "eye for an eye" and a life

for a life.

Although the victim and the victim's family cannot be restored to the

status which preceded the murder, at least an execution brings closure

to the murderer's crime (and closure to the ordeal for the victim's

family) and ensures that the murderer will create no more victims.

For the most cruel and heinous crimes, the ones for which the death

penalty is applied, offenders deserve the worst punishment under our

system of law, and that is the death penalty. Any lesser punishment

would undermine the value society places on protecting lives.

Robert Macy, District Attorney of Oklahoma City, described his concept

of the need for retribution in one case: "In 1991, a young mother was

rendered helpless and made to watch as her baby was executed. The

mother was then mutilated and killed. The killer should not lie in

some prison with three meals a day, clean sheets, cable TV, family

visits and endless appeals. For justice to prevail, some killers just

need to die."

We do accept that executing the innocent is a fair but acceptable risk

of the death penalty. There is no proof that any innocent person has

actually been executed since increased safe...

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...ption look cheap and frivolous. Christ

demonstrated just that when he died on the cross for us. It can be

confirmed that biblical text finds that it is a violation of God's

mandate not to execute murderers-and nowhere does the text contradict

this finding.

Sum up

To conclude our debate today I would like to say: If we execute

murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a

number of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so

would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing

of a number of innocent victims. I know myself and Aine would much

rather risk the former. This is why we would like to re-introduce the

death penalty for murder charge. For us this is not a tough call. We

hope that for you, the members of the floor, this is not a tough call

either.

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