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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2001)
Letters_____________ 2_________________ Opinion To kill or not to kill; that is the question WedNEsdAy, M ay 16, SA LENA DE LA CRUZ Contributing Writer After examination of the newly dis covered FBI documents, the world will have to wait for the ex^ution of Tin o- thy McVeigh. -It has «been, resci|xl- uledrorJhtjejJ. Hbpefuily,itwill bring to a CTose the death and destruction that he brought to Oklahoma City when he detonated an explosion that could be heard around the world. Hopefully, his death will open a new chapter in federal executions and make states re alize that the death penalty needs to be used if its in effect McVeigh will be the first federal ex ecution «ince 1963. According to USA Today, 38 states have die death pen alty and in 2000 there were 85 state executions, a drop from 1999’s95 ex ecutions. Victor Feguer, who was hanged, was the last federal execution. Society has now opted for more hu mane ways to carry out the death sen tence, and yet I find myself wondering why. When criminals hurt people,^ don’t think they thought, “now what would be a more humane way to do this.” Instead, they chose torture, ter ror and pain. Why are we giving them the benefit of lethal injection? They first get a barbiturate to render them unconscious to prevent suffering and are then adm inistered two other drugs to end their life, which takes approxi mately fourminutes. It seems society is trying harder to ease the pain of the offender and less of die victim(s). There are 19 inmates on federal death row waiting to die in Terre Haute, Indiana. We as taxpayers are paying for them to live there. In an interview done by USA Today, McVeigh said he All signed letters to the editor should be SOO words or less and will be considered for publication if submitted by 1 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. Letters to-the Editor are subject to editing. We reserve the 2001 couldn ’ t ask for more - he didn’t have to pay electricity or rent. I think the reason criminals sit in prison is because the government is afiaid of getting flack about the possibility of executing an innocent person. Didn’tajuiyoftheir peers find them guilty? I know there are faults in the system, but it seems criminals are taken out of society so they won't be a burden to society, yet we are burdened by die costs to keep diem alive by entertaining them and right to not publish any letter. A life for a life OR FRANKJORDAN Sports Editor It was announced last week that Timothy McVeigh’s execution would be postponed until June 11 while his lawyers pour over documents that were withheld by the FBI during the course of his original trial. While it may not challenge the nature of his verdict, it may prove worthwhile to throw out his execution order and sen tence him to life in prison. Government-sponsored murder has been around for a long time, and while it may be a cost-expedient way to get rid of die trash, it is turning out to be the wrong way to dispose of society’s refuse. If this were a perfect world, and God knows that it is far from it, then a death sentence would be car ried out expeditiously. Unfortunately, a death sentence automatically tacks on anywhere from 10-15 years(on av erage) to someone’s life, while the au tomatic appeals process runs its feedingthem. The people that protest die death penalty need to stand up and take notice. I wonder if they’d have the same mindset if someone they loved and cared about was killed by vio lence. Would they be so quick to say yes to the life of the criminal? What’s ironic is people are saying ‘what would Jesusdo?’ Indie Bible it says, “An eye for an eye and a tooth foratooth.” Enough said. Weneedto start living by that During the McVeigh case, USA Today/CNN surveyed death penalty protesters and 38% agreed that McVeigh was an ex ception and he deserved to die. An innocent life is an innocent life, whether it’s one or 168. We need to cherish the innocent. If an innocent life is taken by an act of violence, we need to show the offender we will not stand idly by and let their act go un punished — we will trade a life for a life. All 50 states need to enact and use the death penalty. Maybe less crimes will be committed knowing we mean it when we say, “A life for a life.” _ course. Many states are putting holds on life in prison for a life? imposed death sentences because DNA testing is starting to prove time and time again that some death row convicts may not have been die people that committed the heinous acts they were accused of. Although double jeopardy (being tried for the same crime twice, even though acquitted die first time) may come into play in some of these cases, at least we are not sham ing the system and ourselves by ex ecuting the WRONG PERSON. Is it really wise to invoke the old adage “An eye for an eye” in this de bate? First, itdoesn’tmakeawhole lot of sense in today’s civilized society. And second, we try to teach our kids that killing and murder is wrong and that no one (not even governments) should sanction this. Why not commute McVeigh’s death sentence into a life sentence without die possibility ofparole? The bestrea son that I can think of is it will give Corporal McVeigh the chance to think long and hard about what he has done. Sure, he is unremorseful now, but die man is 33 years old. He has a good chance ofliving 30-40more years. Isn’t that an awfully long time to sit by your self in a prison cell thinking about the freedom that you don’t have and what it is that got you there for all those years. Maybe McVeigh can come to some sort of resolution about his situ ation and try to atone for his sins against mankind. By putting him to death, we would not give him die chance to go through this mental torture. Right now, he is putting up a very tough front Give him a few years; he might change his attitude. Does Timothy McVeigh deserve to die? If he truly wants to, then I don’t believe that the government should stop him from carrying out his wishes. But if he decides to fight this, then all efforts must be made to granthis wish. There may come a time that he is ex ecuted for his crime. But with our cur rent system of appeals, this may take a very long time—especially for a fed eral crime. To quote from Red, the convicted murderer played by Morgan Freeman in the movie “The Shawshank Redemp tion,” “When they sentence you to 1 ife, that is exactly what they take, or at least the part that counts.” Student Poll; tell us what you think! What are your views on the death penalty? ■f j Darin Beaulieu Jessica Ellis >Ser/i Wilson “It Doesn’t bother me a bit as long as I’m not getting killed. If “I think ifsomeone kills somebody, they should die. I think iftheydo “I’m not against it and I’m not for it. I’m more for it than they’re killing people, they deserve to get killed.” something, they should have the against it if I had to choose." John Greer “I think there are certain things that require that type of punishment. I think a life for a life.” same thing done to than." Photos by Mike Pollock. Quotes compiled by Liesl Muggli. Do you have something to say? We welcome you to say it loud and proud. Represent your views in The Clackamas Print We'll have a Face Off where someone on our staff will gladly clash words with you. For more information call X2309 or drop byB-104. Editor-i n-Chief: Business Manager: Diana Scrivner (x2447) G ac J amas Fkit Feature Editor: Daisy Bain (x2578) X Maggie Jirasek A & E Editor: State Tam Oliver Elena Boryska Chris Lundgren Liesl Muggli Matt Shempert Robin Conner Copy Editor: Jenny Chavez Sports Editor: Frank Jordan. Photo Editor: Secretary: Mike Pollock Web-Master 19600 S. M o I a II a A ve . O reçox C itv . Oitqo» 97045 (505) 657-6958 ext 2509 CC C P WlNT@ClACkAMA$.CC.Oft.U$ Mark Venetucci Advisor: Linda Vogt (x2310) The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its fac ulty, or The Clackamas Print advertisers. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not neccesarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The advertising rate is $4.75 per col umn inch. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication and is distributed every Wednes day except during Finals week. The Clacka- mas Print Copyright 2001.
