Death Penalty: To Be Revived?

Death penalty is no longer a part of our laws but a speck of reviving it has come out fresh after a series of horrendous crimes that shocked the nation.

“Penalty”, I understand, is a punishment an offender has to endure as a “payment” for a crime s/he committed. The punishment which may be a jail term, fine, or both serve as a correcting factor for the offender hoping that after paying for his/her crimes, s/he will be a better person --- corrected person. Thus, jail is also known as a correctional place.

In the case of death penalty, the subject is not corrected but terminated. In plain and simple words, s/he is killed in the name of law --- legally killed or murdered in the case of a firing squad.

For this reason, I am against the death penalty for everyone is entitled for a second chance --- conversion. I also believe that no human has the right to take the life (in any of its stages) of his fellow human being. No matter how evil a person is, the face of God can still be seen in him and his human dignity is still there and no one can take it away.

Rodolfo Diamante, a spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Pastoral Ministry said:

“Instead of looking at death penalty, they have to think of the other stages of the criminal justice system which starts from building up the case, arresting the perpetrators of the crime and seeing to it that they’ll be properly persecuted [sic - COR INVICTUS]. The last stage is the death penalty.” *

I agree with him but I believe that the word “persecuted” should have been “prosecuted”.

Our problem is the double standard of justice. One does not need a law degree to know that there is a justice system for the poor, the powerless, the marginalized and underprivileged while there is another justice system for the rich, the powerful and influential. It may be correct to say that the blindfold of other countries’ Lady Justice slips down once in a while but it is even more correct to say that our Lady Justice wears a one-way blindfold (magicians use it) from her perspective while her scale is uncalibrated and her sword dull and rusty.

This is the justice we have that sometimes, some of the elite even use the law to protect their crimes for their benefit.

As long as the Filipina Lady Justice’s scale is fraudulent, her sword rusty and dull, and her blindfold a cheat; crimes thrive in this country where life is getting cheaper and cheaper as time ticks.

Woe to the powerless! Woe to the poor! -30-

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Photo Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Central_Statue_Square_Legislative_Council_Building_n_Themis_s.jpg