The "Unspeakable" Penalty

Okay, this just angers me. I just got finished watching the news. Ya, I've heard (actually read) Moussaoui’s talkbacks and arrogant replies; but I never thought I would see the day when Americans (let alone victims of the criminal) would say that a person who wanted to kill their relatives; and still openly admits to it, deserves to live and not die. It is a very sad example of the state of this country today.

For those of you who haven't heard Moussaoui’s comments and sneers, here are a few.

When asked by a lawyer whether he would be prepared to kill Americans, he said: "Anytime, anywhere."

"God curse you all"

When asked by a lieutenant whether he wakes up to destroy the U.S everyday, he replied, "to the best of my ability"

There are many more, including laughing and smiling when victims testified and calling them “weak.” I just cannot see how one can know all this and still say that the guy is good at heart. Keeping people like Moussaoui alive is not mercy, it is cruelty: cruelty to the victims, to the public, and to the society. The victims need retribution. The public is in danger when a criminal is not punished for several obvious reasons:

1. The criminal will most likely do the deed again.
2. The example of justice not being implemented will encourage others to follow in crime.

Executing a criminal is not “just ending another life,” but preventing the loss of other lives by the convict or others. Much of the crime in this country is the result of a lack of justice to those who do heinous crimes. The Bible says that God will judge a society when it does not administer justice. America and other Western countries are in trouble then.

One thing that especially makes me angry is that people cite the Bible as saying that criminals should not be executed. When was the last time they read their Bibles? A better translation of the 6^th commandment is “Thou shalt not .” If God meant no, then every time you step on an ant, you’re breaking God’s law. (Oh yeah, by the way, what about the Jews going into Canaan and conquering the people there?) Besides, there are many references to executing criminals in the Bible: “If anyone kills a person, the [killer] shall be [executed] at the evidence of witnesses…” (Num. 35:30) There are many, many more clear statements in the Bible, but I’ll end here.

If this were the 1830s, (actually, the 1910s too) Moussaoui would have been years ago. We need to change the legal system so that it doesn’t take 6 years min. for a criminal to be executed. It is clear that Zacharias Moussaoui deserves the "unspeakable" penalty.