Why try to save the murderers?

THE EDITOR: All those people who protest against hanging seem to have no problem with the US’s planned genocide against Iraqis. Nor the murder of Palestinian children. Nor even the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. I don’t see or hear them protesting against these atrocities. Hundreds and thousands of people are being killed daily in unnecessary and murderous wars all over the world but these bleeding hearts want to prevent the state from executing people who have been proven, through a long and tortuous process, of committing the crime of murder. Every opportunity is given to the accused to prove his innocence, including a review by the Mercy Committee who may recommend commutation of the sentence of death even if the accused is found guilty. After surrounding all these obstacles placed in its path by these obstructionists, at great cost to the state in terms of money, time, manpower, and patience, the demand is for the state to further stretch its limited financial resources by keeping these persons in jail for the rest of their lives.

The jails are already excessively overcrowded, removing all opportunity for separating minor offenders from hard-core criminals, with the result that all persons sent to jail are tainted by the process. These jokers want to add to that number all the people convicted of murder, to be a burden on the taxpayer for the rest of their lives. With the increasing youthfulness of criminals, the State may have to maintain them for the next 50 years. How much does it cost to keep one prisoner for one year? Multiply that by fifty or more years and then multiply that by the number of persons convicted of murder each year. People who oppose the death penalty would be more convincing if they spent as much of their time and energy trying to prevent unnecessary wars and the murder of innocent civilians as they spend time trying to spare the lives of criminals.

KARAN MAHABIRSINGH
Chase Village