When justice is tainted by revenge, not only the poor and the sick suffer

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I have always been against Capital Punishment. I remember always feeling disgusted and angry whenever an execution took place somewhere around the world. I still do! Images of public beheadings in Asia and the electric chair in America still invoke feelings of despair in my sensitive being.  The worst possible nightmare scenario must be when an innocent is executed. It's irreversible and against basic human rights.

I became a member of Amnesty International long ago and believed that doing so would help change the world. Ah, the aspirations of the young!  I mean that "third" of the world that still persists in executing some of it's criminals. That "third" of the world truly shackled to the past when it comes to all matters judicial. That "third" of the world that stubbornly believes Capital Punishment is a deterrent! That same "third" of the world that is clearly "third world" when it comes to Law.  I associate the death penalty with times-gone-by,  when life was cheap and death accepted as an everyday occurrence. Capital punishment is not a deterrent and never has been! All the statistics from the UN, Amnesty Int'l  and other human rights organizations prove beyond doubt the futility of the death penalty. If it's not a deterrent, then it must be an act of revenge! Pure and simply - revenge.

Below (the brown shaded area) is the "Map Of Shame" of the countries that believe two wrongs make a right. The countries that still kill people for killing people.

With the exception of Belarus (who?) Europe has long since abolished Capital Punishment. Why then does the UN still tolerate this evil barbaric practice in a third of the world? 

Only three industrialised democracies still have the death penalty. The USA, Japan and South Korea. 

The USA? Incredible! But the US has one of the highest murder rates in the world! Clearly not a deterrent there. In fact it is  not a deterrent anywhere.

Why not lock up the worst criminals forever, if necessary, and make them work their arse off to pay back society? Isn't that a better way? To make matters worse, 10% of all the inmates on death row in the States are suffering from mental illnesses! The rest are poor and can't afford the right lawyers.

Aren't civilised nations supposed to cure the sick? How can killing be justified?

 "Don't do as I do, do as I tell you"

Not since the Nazi war have the sick been helped to die at the doctors door.

I will end this rant with the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi on revenge.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

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