1995_04 The Daily Collegian April 1995

              ^^^^m^.
2—The t>aily Collegian
Monday, April 3,1995
-~1
The Right Left
?£By Paulo aMbuquerque
k
Death penalty does
not punish criminals
Gas, electric chair ineffective,
capital punishment questioned       >u^__
In the ancient, democratic Greek society, after having been put
under death rolL philosopher Socrates challenged the judges who
forced him to drink sicuta to -be executed. Socrates claimed to be
| intrigued by the certainty of those who decided his fate.
>-?Hbw can you be certain that you are indeed punishing me?"
he asked, while faced wi|h his sentence. According to Socrates,
mankind can only know*what it has experienced, and death, of
course, could never be included in that list
Later in history, in the beginning of this century, two men by
die names of Saco and Vanzetti met a similar destiny to that of the
Greek philosopher. According to most historians, these two politi¬
cally incorrect men, known in their community as professed anar¬
chists, were the best people around to fit into the skin of scapegoat
and, consequently, be accused of murder. Saco and Vanzetti,-two
Italian immigrants, were executed despite a clear lack of evidence.
A few decades later, a horrendous crime made America very
angry.
Charles Lindenberg was a typical American hero. He was
blond, blue-eyed, goocf looking and very brave. He was the first
man to cross the Atlantic Ocean after 33 hours of flight in the best
"Spirit Of Saint Louis." He was a pioneer. He was a man who
helped prove that there are very few limits for mankind. Unfortu¬
nately, mankind is so limitless that the Lindenberg achievement
followed a despicable act of villainy. Charles Lindenberg paid a
very expensive price for the stardom. His baby son was kidnapped
and cruelly assassinated. Ironically, it was a pioneer case of kidnap¬
ping that demanded a severe punishment.
Incapable of finding the kidnappers, the police set rewards,
mobilized forces and engaged in a true manhunt to find that
monstrous archenemy of society.
The kidnapper was never found, but a lamb served well for the
iirmrolation^o fulfill revenge and re-establish the order among
American folks. Despite the proven alibi, a man was tricked by
experienced lawyers, and he became incapable of proving his
innocence. There was an, urgent need to clean the blood of that
innocent, cute, blpe-eyed baby. Although, a confession was never
achieved by interrogators and the alibi appeared to be legitimate,
_ he was executed and society moved em, happily ever after.
n/"   Or should we say, at least until the secrets of nuclear weapons
were sold to the Soviet Union. Then, we were no longer the only
nation capable to exterminate humanity with a single blow. Once
— ■ again, the American public was outraged. Someone, and it does not
matter who, would have to pay for this despicable action.
Who could possibly fit more into the role of Soviet Spies than
a liberal Jewish coupleYFirst of all, Karl Marx was a Jew. Hitler had
also well promoted the A/yan cause against the enemies of human¬
ity and had then recemly exterminated 6 million of them. Who
would care if we killed a couple more? And the Rosembergs paid
the price for the CIA lack of efficiency. All the evidence wason their
side. They had alibis as well but served as the role of lambs for the
demanding, revengeful public.
Today, it has almost been proven that the above mentioned
cases are all good examples of justice errors. »
, Since I was a child, I have always been intrigued by thetfact that
the United States is the only western country that still officially
makes use of death penalty as capital punishment.
Defenders of death penalty claim that this form of punishment
prevents potential criminals to engage in such activities. They
r^believe that by increasing the fear of a violent punishment, mur-\
ders, rapists kidnappers and spies will hesitate before committing
crimes of great proportions! They also say that the death penalty
saves money for tax payers Who are tired of paying the goods of
those who live inside our jail systems.which protect society from
criminals that could eventually escape and cause more damage to
the lives of honest people.
I don't have enough data to prove that severe punishment
prevents crime. Like Socrates, I like to believe that I only know what
I experienced; and neither I nor the people who pass the new
legislation fat least I like to th ink that way) have the urge to commit
I
Pilbert® by Scott Adams
a
See PAULO. Page 6
EACH OF XOU COILL URITE
YOUR OBJECTIVES AND
GrVETHErATO rAE
THEN I CJIUL SCULPT*
THESE DISPARATE PIECES
OF CLAY INTO AN
ELEGANT TAPESTRY
COHICH  COILL BE OUR
BUSINESS PLAN.
OUR BUSINESS
PLAN LOILL BE
LIKE A CLAY
TAPESTRY?
| FEEL FREE
TO QUOTE
fr\Y LAPTOP COttPUTER^
f IS LOCKED UP   CAN
YOU  HELP?
RErAEABER YOU HAVE TO
HOLD IT UPSIDE DOCON
AND SHAKE IT TO
REBOOT
\ OH, THAT'S
RIGHT
I BONDER IF HELL EVER
REALIZE U)E GAVE RI»"\
AN "ETCH-A-SKETCH"
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