Thread:Comments:Condemned US killer to face execution by firing squad/Truly sad (2)/reply

How utterly barbaric and disgusting that a government within a nation which so often claims for itself the responsibility of protecting democracy, liberty and the rule of law participates in a heinous act that violates the most basic level of human dignity. What is happening here is no less than state-sanctioned revenge, and while revenge is a natural emotional response in the face of acts of cruelty, It is merely an impulse, and ultimately a base and childish one which serves no purpose but to perpetuate cruelty. The role of the state in dealing with criminal behaviour is to approach criminality as a systemic illness which needs to be treated, both by rehabilitating the criminal and by examining and addressing the underlying cultural or social conditions which may be the root cause of such crime. Acting as a surrogate for society's most savage violent inclinations serves only to validate criminal behaviour rather than discourage it. It teaches "yes.. it's ok to be merciless and brutal so long as you have the machinery of government at your disposal". What results is a codified form of vigilantism that completely undermines the moral authority of the state to deter crime. It is deeply sickening that a people who fancy themselves civilised (and even "Christian" at that) can look the other way while their government commits an unmistakably homicidal act.