Human civilization has made it to the 21st century; though at times it seems as if it never even came out of the Middle Ages.

People get hanged, gassed, killed by electrocution, shot or murdered by lethal injection… and there are many more legitimate ways of killing; in 58 countries around the world.

I say legitimate because the sentenced man or woman await their death by the hand of the government of their country, under the label of justice.

Not only in China, Japan, Iran, Iraq etc. but also our so called “leading country in the world” the U.S.A.

Why do people still support the death penalty and capital punishment? Is it the “eye for an eye”, the “what they did to me, I will do to them”, the “they deserve it” thinking?

If so then who will be next in that line, the judge?

The death penalty is discriminating, racist, unjust, probably sexist and irreversible.

Almost 80% of Death Row defendants in the U.S. have been executed for killing white victims, even though in society as a whole African-Americans account for about half of murder victims.

Sentiments like “That little nigger deserves the chair” spoken by a defence attorney,
in the capital case of Curtis Osborne 1991, are horrifying, yet they are said.

To have a clear view on what’s wrong with the justice system one has to look at the facts
.
People without any money see themselves being defended in an inappropriate way. State defence attorneys get appointed and those are mostly over-worked and unprofessional, they either fall asleep in court or have no time to prepare the case thoroughly.

Crucial information often is withheld form the jury.
Therefore there’s no doubt that innocent people get incarcerated. Over 130 innocent people have been released from the U.S death row, and although denied by the state, less fortunate innocents were executed.

One of these cases is Camaron Todd Willingham who professed his innocence from his arrest (in 1991) till the execution gurney* (Feb. 17, 2004). He was sentenced to death by the jury in less than an hour, without having the scientific evidence that subsequently proved him innocent.

Similarly in Uganda a shocking case occured; Mpagi Edward Edmary, spent 18 years on death row although his “victim” was alive and well.

As a human rights activist I oppose the death penalty as an inhumane punishment and against the Human Rights Declaration, art 3: everybody has a right to live.

To kill people to show people that killing is wrong can not be the way, however heineous the deed was. They need to be punished no question about that, but there must be compassion and forgiveness. There will be no closure after the execution is done; its only one more killing…

If it is justice to throw stones at a man or woman till he or she dies or letting the defendant hang for days to scare people off, then to my opinion human civilization hasn`t reached the 21st century. It shows that barbarism still is ruling the mind of mankind.

Angela Grobben

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* Execution table