Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The hardest part about this amendment is that from each culture, there is a different definition of what “cruel and unusual punishment” is among different people. The death penalty has caused much controversy over the years, supporters saying it is “an eye for an eye”. In reality, this punishment has not caused crimes to diminish. I think there would be a better impact in our nation if we used the money we would have used to fund the death penalty (in some states) on education, investing in their futures, insuring that they know how to be good people, and helping to make them happy as they grow up. I also believe that it is not any one person’s decision but God’s to say if they live or die.
This video gives great examples for the pros and cons of the death penalty. I will warn, this video is a little bit strange because of the verbiage they use.
This quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gives us a great perspective on the death penalty. Again, how can we be the ones who decides who lives and dies? Does that not make us just like the murders who we put to death? I cannot imagine the pain of losing someone this way, but we must overcome the hate and respond with love, just like MLK did throughout his career.
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