Why capital punishment is wrong

The way of the human being is the way of understanding. We are ‘Homo sapiens,’ which means ‘wise man.’ So our way is the way of wisdom. It is human nature to want to understand what we encounter, and to respond to what we encounter through the wisdom that comes from this understanding.

When someone has behaved in a very destructive way, the truly human way of responding to this behavior is by wanting to understand it. And the actions that are appropriate to deal with this behavior are an outcome of this understanding.

Punishing people by killing them is not the way of understanding. Killing people as a punishment is the outcome of NOT understanding. If we would truly understand every cause that contributed to the destructive behavior, from genes to upbringing to personal choices, the outcome of this understanding would be a more compassionate approach.

But if we do not understand the behavior, we demonize the person by saying that the person is ‘pure evil,’ or we let our emotions get the better of us by wanting revenge. And a final argument of those who do not understand would be that this person does not deserve to live anymore, especially at the expense of the taxpayer.

Now, why do we not want to kill as a punishment when we truly understand? Because when we understand, we can identify with the other. The other becomes part of our way, which is understanding. That’s why showing mercy is an expression of wisdom. When we don’t understand, we cannot identify with the other and so the other becomes a threat to our way of being.

But just as we feel love for the one who killed, we also feel love for the people he or she wants to kill. So the appropriate action to take with someone who has very destructive tendencies is to make sure this person will not be able to do any more harm. And the best solution we currently have is to put this person in prison. That is the wiser solution.