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This is a commendable attitude, it however, is not the predominant attitude in our society. When you have responded to crime scenes and seen first hand what depravity the human species is capable of...your attitude towards the monsters of the world might change. When you have tried to save victims only to watch them die, you may feel differently. There are some souls (or people that lack them) that are not worth saving. What it comes down to for me, is does the criminals life have any redeeming value? The answer in most cases is yes, in this particular instance....I don't know, I'm glad I'm not the judge.
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My father and mother both worked for the Georgia Buerau of Investigation. Both of them did crime scenes for a good portion of their time with the GBI. My father was also on of the primary forensic examiners in the state, doing dozens and dozens of autopsies a week. I went to my first autopsy when I was 8 or 9 (much to my mother's dismay) and have seen more death than most. I have seen some pretty dramatic scenes, most caused by violence. So, I have seen the evil that rests in the souls of many humans but that still does not change my opinion of the death penalty or of murder in general.
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I personally would appreciate if you would retract or clarify this comment. I have, during my career, come very close to killing 3 people (3 seperate incidents), each time I would have been totally justified, but opportunities for other solutions provided themselves before the trigger was pulled. Had those opportunities not arisen, I would not have been a murderer. Every human has a basic right to protect themselves and there loved ones (and any other human for that matter) with deadly force, if the situation calls for it. If I walk in on a man raping your mother and I shoot him, he dies...am I a murderer? I realize this was (probably) simply a short sighted comment on your part, but it hits close to home.
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The statement is exactly as stated. As a theology professor once told me, "there is a killer in all of us" and I certainly do see his point. This was by no means a "short sighted" comment as it is very well thought out considering every possible circumstance. I don't take this issue lightly at all. Two wrongs don't make a right. Murder is murder, whether it is justifiable or not. I am learning more and more that there are ways to handle almost any situation in a non-violent fashion but when the history of humanity is virtually shaped by violence, it is hard to get out of that entreanched ideology.
Edit: Upon looking up the webster definition of murder, it is "unlawfully killing a person" but I find this definition's interpretation to be a hazy only because the Law is not a static thing and is dependent upon the social/theological/ideological construct of any given person. So, while as far as the U.S. law is concerned, it perhaps is lawful but in another context (such as most religious beliefs) it perhaps is not. I think killing someone is wrong, or have you, is murder. At the same time, I am not trying to take the moral highground because as I said, their is a killer in all of us. I do plenty of things wrong in this world, many things that others would probably addamantly disagree with. So reefrunner, I am not trying to make a judgement of your character, just saying that I think killing is wrong. Does that make sense?
If a man were raping my mother or girlfriend and I shot that person (and killed him), that does not make it right and that is something that I would ever live down.
Again, this is the reason I did not want to delve any furthur into the topic because I knew I could offend many individuals on this site and I mean no offense. I have my opinions and my life experiences and you have yours. I hope I haven't struck a nerve with my beliefs...
Take er easy
Scott T.