What About Capital Punishment?

I viewed Larry King Live on CNN about the Manson Murders in the ‘60s. The murder of actress Sharon Tate and her unborn son by a group of psychopaths, Manson followers, is proof that some people could be driven to devilish and gruesome acts against others who are innocent and helpless. Making the relatives suffer a lifetime of pain and loss aggravates the crime. All accused are still behind bars, and not one has been given parole in spite of numerous pleas, even from the woman who lies dying of brain cancer.

Some people may agree that capital punishment would have been a better method to deal with the unpardonable crime. When crime is committed, it is a crime against an agreed-upon way of life of most people; it is a grave threat against what most people have painstakingly built for themselves and their families. When criminals believe in an exactly opposite way of life, believing even that killing innocent people is okay, then they become incorrigible from the normal perspective. Punishment like life imprisonment is imposed. At times, capital punishment is adhered to. Or better and just.

Remember the Maggie de la Riva rape case? Everyone felt the criminals deserved to be punished with death on the electric chair. The whole nation watched silently on the day of the persecution, and nobody wanted the phone from the President’s side to ring and stop it. I just don’t know how much impact this had on the rate and frequency of commission of heinous crimes. But it sure did silence them for a while.