Capital Punishment; An American Necessity

Murder, forcible rape, both are one way tickets to your death bed and properly so.  In the United States there are too many questions being brought about whether or not capital punishment is right and if it should be banned.  The main question that arises is, is it cruel and unusual punishment?  Some people argue that the Declaration of Independence has protection, if you will.  Well I can tell you having the intent to murder someone and then doing so does not deserve the Declarations protection of their rights.  People who have the audacity to take a human beings life or sexually assault them against their will, deserve nothing less than death.   All those who oppose capital punishment should rethink their decision because their thought process is what is giving murders a second chance at the freedom they do not deserve.  After someone commits murder or rape of any kind they are entitled to one thing and one thing only, and that is being put to death.

Death row is a deserving place for many, but the process itself needs to be sped up by the United States government.  Some inmates sit in death row anywhere from five to twenty five years.  For one this is not cheap, being that the average inmate costs around 100,000 dollars per year according to the website “The Economist”.  It is no mystery that the American Economy is far from being well off, so why waste money on prisoners that have been sentenced to death?  Once it has been proven that these convicts committed murder, rape, or sexual assault, they should have a minimum of two years on death row.  Two years is an extreme in many cases, for these convicts should not only have a speedy trial but punishment as well.

With that in mind I also believe that before a suspect is sentenced to death, there needs to be conclusive evidence and some sort of DNA testing.  This is to prove the suspect on trial is actually guilty.  Along with testing the suspects should have the right to appeal any conviction.  Once this process is done and the suspect has been convicted, they should be put to death.  Our world today is filled with enough evil and the last thing we Americans need is murders sitting in prison soaking up tax payer’s money.  Since it costs so much to keep these inmates in prison, why let them sit in prison?  Yes it may seem harsh at first thought, but it cannot be any harsher than the crime the convicted felon against their victim.  If I had anything to say about a murderers fate I would have them put to death in the same way they murdered their victim.  This would be equivalent to their crime and would serve deserving justice.

Due to the fact this is such a controversial topic there will probably not be any quick decisions made in the near future.  This is understandable however it is not understandable that people think that capital punishment should be done away with because it is “not right”.  People will continue to this this until someone dear to them is either killed or raped by a heartless human being.  Perhaps this will change people’s perspectives on capital punishment slowly and steadily.  Until Americas view on capital punishment is for the most part similar, the United States will continue to house pure bred ruthless killers.

Something Just Doesnt Seem Right…

–          In Mr. Skinner’s case it comes across as if the judicial system bent some rules in order to have him locked up.  If the DNA tests were inconclusive what evidence did they have?

–          In my opinion a blood and sweat stained jacket as well as a knife would serve as conclusive evidence if there was a DNA match, so why were no tests done?

–          It seems as if though Mr. Skinner’s lawyer is not really morally ok with defending his client due to his unwillingness to fight for his requests.

–          In my opinion Skinner’s want to have this evidence tested shows the possibility of him being innocent.  If he knew he was guilty why would he wand additional proof to show his wrongdoing and possibly lead to capital punishment?  He states “let the chips fall where they may” meaning let the truth reveal itself.

–           Gregory Coleman, representing district attorney Switzer said this was an attack on the criminal proceeding however the Supreme Court decided to hear his case.

–          The most simplistic thought that comes to mind when reading this is that Skinner is given a real unfair trial process just because there is evidence present that “should” be tested but for some reason is not.  It’s never made clear as far as exact reasoning why the blood stained evidence is/was not tested.

–          The author’s statement, “He is merely seeking the opportunity to test important pieces of evidence ignored by the prosecution” shows possible bias towards the defendant, Mr. Skinner.  It’s coming across as if the author is making a case for Mr. Skinner to have his case looked at more in depth and “given a chance” in other words.

–          The author especially shows bias towards Skinner in his last statement of his writing saying, “but he should not be punished for the maneuverings of his lawyer”.

–          Overall the bias that is being presented by the author is almost taking away from his credibility because it makes the reader think twice about wanting to help or feel bad for the reader.  Instead of using person opinions or stating ideas the author should present more facts to the reader and persuade them through convincing them that way.

–          Skinner said that the blood on him came from examining the victims but if he was too drugged up to kill them, how was he in the right state of mind to examine and determine if they were alright?  With that in mind why was he caught hiding in the closet with a weapon, and conscious?  His story has too many contradictions for me to believe.

–          Overall it makes sense to have the physical evidence tested for the court and prosecutions sake to end the case.  They would more than likely find Skinner guilty and have conclusive evidence, and enough to give him the death penalty.  This is why it does not make sense to me that Skinner wants these materials tested.

–          I believe Skinner is guilty.  There is too many details, and too much reasonable doubt playing against him.

Instilling A Love For What You Do

                Going to any place of a higher education and putting forth the effort needed to succeed in your area of choice is a process that must have a certain level of desire and love behind it.  This “love” for learning is a goal that Concordia is trying to instill into the minds of every student.  Having a love for learning sounds a lot less appealing to the ear of the average student but that may be due to the irrational thought process of the average student.  When you hear the goal, “instill a love for learning”, the first thing that comes to mind is homework followed by endless late nights with sleep deprivation worked in there as well.  These qualities do not come across as appealing to the student body as the administration may think, however the goal is one that should be passionately strived for.

                Part of going to college is the process of maturing and growing into a responsible young adult.  The thought of going to a homework free campus with a restriction on hours spent on homework sounds ideal, however is simply unrealistic.  We the students are going to college to study the field and career of our interest that we believe we will someday be doing.  If you ask the average student what they want to do when they are older the generic answer is, “something I love and that pays a lot”.  Well if students want to someday be employed in the career field they “love” then they better be willing to “love” putting forth effort in the learning process.  Now of course no student is going to love staying up late into the night doing homework and getting very little hours of sleep, but there needs to be a deeper appreciation for the reasoning behind the homework and the effort they are putting into their future. 

                Being a well-respected college that is known for their academics, Concordia’s goals are going to be far from easy to obtain for us students.  The last thing that we as students can do is let the difficulty of these goals push us away from wanting to obtain them.  This requires us to adjust and sometimes even change our lifestyles and the way we go about certain things such as time management and how we use our free time.  This is all part of what Concordia is trying to do in order to mold its students into the successful people they will someday be.  As a student many of the favored pass times require time and energy and that leaves little energy to direct towards work in the classroom and towards homework.  What Concordia is trying to do is take that energy and have you direct it towards your desired major with passion as well.  Going out and having fun with their free time is what students “love” to do but eventually (sooner than later) it is their responsibility to put the partying aside and focus on what matters, which is their degree.  From a student’s point of view, yes, it is hard to crack down and direct the majority of your time and focus to school, however there is a deeply rooted understanding of importance inside each student that keeps us on the straight and narrow.  As freshman in college the process of growing up and maturing out of the teenager phase of life is inevitable so the sooner that Concordia can instill this goal of a love for learning the more effective it will be on the students they are targeting.

                Overall looking at it from my point of view (the student) Concordia’s goal of instilling a love for learning in all its students seems like a necessary goal and one that solidifies the foundation of Concordia’s mission to mold the minds of its students.  Granted in some aspects the word “love” seems a little far-fetched due to it being left up for interpretation to the students.  There is no doubt that seriousness in the classroom and towards school out of the classroom is a priority for Concordia, but loving every step of the way as well.  It is clear that this specific goal is a challenging one but more importantly a necessary one.