dickfromafrica:

Capital punishment has never made any sense. It’s always had an air of ritualism for me - a public action performed mainly for it’s symbolic value - and it’s baffled me that I’ve never found anyone willing to acknowledge this.

It’s not Justice that we are looking for. DNA testing proves that “the system” does fail - especially if you are a man of color. Where’s the justice in that?

It’s not punishment that we seek. How do you punish a dead person? I’ve never thought of death as the ultimate punishment anyway. There have been ancient cultures where public execution was considered a great honor. A long, miserable life without hope seems more like punishment to me.

It doesn’t help to preserve the rule of law in our society. Countries without capital punishment are overwhelmingly less violent societies.

So why do we cling to it so tenaciously?

For me, the motivations are the same that have always motivated human sacrifice down through the history of man and it’s pure hubris to think that we have changed - only the mythology and rationalizations have changed.

It comforts us.

It makes us feel safe - protected from the angry gods of the unknown just behind the veil.

It’s Huitzilopochtli accepting the fresh, still-beating heart, thus allowing us to keep our wide-screens for yet another year. Praise the lord!