T. Mannis
Reuters reports today that the U.S. Supreme Court has "rejected a challenge to the lethal three-drug cocktail used in most U.S. executions, clearing the way for a resumption of executions halted since last September." (Full story...)Some soft hearted folks will tell you that the death penalty is cruel and unusual. In fact, it is neither.
It is not cruel.
Let's make an analogy. Suppose your child takes a cookie from the jar after you've told her that she should not, and then you ground her for two weeks as punishment. Well, most of us would agree that that would be a cruel punishment, because the punishment is out of proportion to the offense. The punishment, in common parlance, does not fit the crime. Not letting the child watch her favorite TV show that evening might more more appropriate.
Let's stay with that analogy. Suppose the child stole a bag of cookies from the local convenience store and you found out about it. To ground her for two weeks would not be cruel, as most of us would agree that this punishment is appropriate.
Flash forward and suppose your child is all grown up. She murders one of your neighbors by deliberately feeding him poison-laced cookies. Would it be appropriate to ground her for two weeks? Or is something, say, more appropriate in order?To make a person who stole property return the property or reimburse the true owner of the property for its value is not cruel. It is appropriate. To execute a murderer, who stole somebody's life and can never return it, is not cruel. It is appropriate.
Can the death penalty be cruel? Yes. It can be administered cruelly. Being drawn and quartered, for example, or being burned alive. But to administer a lethal injection - even though it can sometimes cause some discomfort - is not cruel. It is done with the humane intention of minimizing suffering, as opposed to many traditional forms of execution which are intended to maximize and prolong suffering.
It is not unusual.This is much easier. What is the definition of "unusual"? The Cambridge Dictionary of American English defines it as "different from what is usual or expected." The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "(1) not habitually or commonly done or occurring. (2) remarkable; exceptional."
The death penalty has been a traditional form of punishment for thousands of years in most cultures around the world. For over 200 years, it has been used in the United States. Therefore, it cannot reasonably or honestly be called unusual.
This is not to say that one cannot make a reasonable argument against the death penalty, but to call it cruel or unusual is intellectually dishonest. Whereas it can be cruel, it is not necessarily cruel. Given it's widespread and common use throughout history, it simply cannot be called unusual.
