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Study after study has proved that the death penalty is not an effective crime deterrent nor does it save on cost.

Martin O'Malley, of "The Washington Post", in his article, "Why I Oppose the Death Penalty" reports in 2005, the murder rate was 46 percent higher in the states that had the death penalty than in states without it. Since 1990 the murder rate has declined by 56 percent in states without the death penalty but only 38 percent in states that have it. From these statistics, it would seem that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime, and may possibly increase the crime rate.

The premeditated execution of a man, any man, heinous as he may be, is incommensurable with what he is being executed for the simple reason that we are a civilized society and civilized people do not kill other people.

The irony is many of the people who fight for capital punishment are the same ones that claim they trust God implicitly... yet they cannot trust God enough to decide how and when the fate, of what they believe He created, should be.

Who gives any man the right to play God?

Are we not just as guilty as the murderer we are putting to death when we calculate down to the last minute how and when he should take his last breath?

When we make these decisions we cannot be sure that person is guilty of the crime he is being executed for with 100% certainty. We are not sure if that person will die a cruel and torturous death. We are not sure of anything but our own self- righteousness.

On a personal level, I understand the feelings of the victim or victim's loved ones wanting revenge or "justice", but the emotional state of the victim(s) is not relevant when deciding the fate of the person accused of a crime. Laws exist to make us think twice before acting or reacting, in other words, laws exist to protect us from ourselves and our all too human reactions and desires.

We all have blood on our hands whether it is directly, or indirectly. We may not have pulled the trigger, or plunged the knife but at the same time many of us couldn't be bothered to take a minute out of our busy schedules to reflect upon the impact our policies have on those around the world, or the effect our Justice system has on the lives of those not as fortunate. If we did, we would see that many of our policies and laws often protect only those who can afford to pay for Justice. In reality, it is often times a luxury that a good percentage of us cannot afford.

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