Death Penalty zine!!!

Well, my Beltane project more or less ended up being my Samhain project...but better late than never! My zine is DONE and I must say, I'm happy enough with it!!!

I put a hard copy on the wall at Kafe Kerouac (a place I strongly recommend checking out at some point if you're on the OSU campus.)

Here is what the inside says:

-Hundreds of men and women are put to death yearly, in the United States alone.

 -There is a huge racial bias- minorities are far more likely to be sentenced to death than whites; 

-Sometimes execution methods are botched; causing the condemned to live their last moments in agony. 

-And all too often- It’s been discovered too late that an innocent individual was executed. 

-It has mostly been proven that the death penalty DOES NOT: 1.) Offer a deterrent to rape, murder, etc., 2.) Bring any closure to the victims’ families. A relative of a victim was heard saying, “Killing her killer isn’t going to bring her back.” 

 I am no way saying that these individuals should be let off. If one commits a murder, a rape, etc.- justice MUST be served.  However, I believe that there should be alternatives. I believe life in prison without parole actually makes more sense- in some cases, for the most heinous crimes, death is “too kind.” A life in isolation is actually a more extreme punishment than death- at least, that’s my opinion.  

It’s been said by some that keeping prisoners alive is cost expensive- and I see where they’re coming from. But let’s also consider this: The executioner becomes no better than the condemned themselves. The executioner has taken a life themselves. I don’t believe in “turning the other cheek”- not at all. As I said, in the case of a murder or a rape, justice MUST be served. The Wiccan Rede implies that karma WILL be served. Karma for the perpetrator-but karma for the executioner as well. And again, I’m not one to blindly turn the other cheek. But I’ll say it again-the executioner is now a killer themselves. More and more families of victims are also becoming against the death penalty; they in no way advocate for the death of the perpetrator; because “it’s not going to bring our loved one back.”  

My family has ties to Boston- AND I’m an endurance runner. And even I don’t agree with the death penalty for the marathon bomber! YES I do agree that he should be locked up for life, no parole; But screw the death penalty. It’s not going to bring the victims back. Honestly, spending life alone in isolation ruminating on one’s actions? More brutal than death in many ways.

 If you want to take actions against the death penalty: -See what your states’ stances on it is; contact your representatives; -Check out National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; -Also check out Amnesty International. Blessed Be!