Death Sentence!

On July 8, Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis became the first man to be executed in Florida's new electric chair. Davis was sentenced to die by electrocution for the brutal murders of a pregnant mother and her two daughters.

Electrocution is a highly controversial method of execution often causing considerable tissue damage. Witnesses have used terms such as grotesque, brutal and horrifying. In the case of Allen Davis, witnesses stated that there was heavy blood loss through Davis' nose and through his chest. While many speculate that this blood loss was due to Davis' weight rather than the mode of execution, these gruesome details have renewed cries by many to eliminate the death penalty altogether.

Admittedly, when I first heard the reports of Davis' death, I was grieved. How could anyone not be moved by such a horrible death? While I am not a person who is known for being overly sensitive to the plight of the condemned, this last execution has had a profound impact on me. After a bit of soul searching, the conclusion that I have come to is this: Life is infinitely valuable and executions must have more meaning than to punish or seek revenge.

The use of the death penalty must have an additional and higher purpose and that purpose must be to discourage future violent behavior and thereby reduce the victimization of the general public. In keeping with this stated purpose, all executions must be gruesome in order to make such an impact on the minds of criminals and would-be criminals that they voluntarily restrain their behavior. Additionally, this type of punishment should be public, at least in the sense that lesser criminals should be forced to watch.

Finally, it should never be easy for us to execute a criminal. Each and every execution should tear at our souls. We should be drawn to our knees by our grief and weep for every life that must be destroyed. It is sad that such harsh and exacting measures must be taken to persuade people to obey basic moral laws such as, "Thou shall not murder," yet such is the nature of the world we live in.