Lethal injection under scrutiny
Can't we have compassion for the prisoner while still remembering the victims? Why can't we deplore the crime while condemning the horrors of execution?
Jesus Christ told us to visit the prisoner. He told a criminal who was crucified alongside him: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Do you believe that Christ didn't also remember the victims and their families? As for closure for the family: Although I sympathize with the victim's family, isn't "closure" emotional revenge, which in the end brings no real relief?
We should have life without parole instead of execution and remove this international stigma too long associated with Texas.
For those interested only in the relative costs, it's been proven that it's cheaper to keep a prisoner for life than to execute him, considering the cost of trained personnel required for execution and the cost to the state of litigation. That money could be used instead for schools, hospitals or mass transit.
As for a come-to-Jesus conversion in prison, it's said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Perhaps so, but whatever goes on in someone's heart is between that person and God. I wouldn't presume to know whether it's sincere.
-- David Perkins, Fort Worth