Thou Shall Not Kill

So today we talked about the death penalty. Conservatives are for the death penalty, stating that when criminals are killed, justice has been served. Also, they think that having the death penalty as an option works as a crime deterrent in that criminals become scared of being put on death row, and their fear prevents them from committing more heinous crimes that would be punishable by death. The liberal side contends that killing a person to make them pay for a crime is morally wrong and hypocritical, and also point out that it is more expensive to execute someone than it is to keep them in jail for life (due to court and legal fees). Also there's the chance that the person executed was innocent, in which case, nothing would have been solved.

Personally I believe that using violence to solve problems, whether it is with war, punishment, or or everyday interactions, is completely unacceptable and extremely barbaric. Notice how every other developed country has banned the death penalty because they have deemed it "uncivilized", while in America, we refuse to let go of it. The idea that the death penalty is a crime deterrent seems somewhat ridiculous, considering it almost seems more threatening to be confied in prison for the rest of your life. Also, the crimes/murders the person committed won't suddenly turn around as soon as they are killed. By killing a killer that has already been caught, all you're doing is killing them: the people that they killed will still be dead afterward, the surviving victims will still be traumatized. It just seems unnecessary and ineffective to kill another person. I understand that the criminal's death may feel justified, however all it is doing is bringing yourself to their level: that of a killer.