The Flower List: On Death Row.... Should We Say No?

If you've been watching the news lately you might've heard about a recent execution. Ronnie Lee Gardner was convicted of capital murder in 1985, and was sentenced to death. His victim was attorney Michael Burdell, who was fatally shot while Gardner failed in his try to escape a court trial. Before he killed Burdell, he was facing charges of murder in the shooting death of a bartender. When he was sentenced, Utah still had death by firing squad as an option, even though it was outlawed in 2004, Gardner chose to keep this execution method because he preferred it, not because of the controversy it stirred.

If you don't know how a firing squad execution works, here's a rundown. The person who is to be killed, is strapped in a chair, with a black bag over their head, and a bib-like target placed over their heart. A handful of certified policemen, who volunteered for this position, and remain anonymous stood 25 feet from the convicted, behind a wall cut with a gunport. To make it that the policemen can rest easy at night, certain guns are loaded with blanks, so no one will know who fired the fatal shot.

If you'd like to read more about Ronnie Lee Gardner's troubled life, and it's frightening ending, I'd suggest searching his name on today.msnbc.msn.com and click on the first link. I found it to be a great article, because it talked about so many things I didn't think about when dealing with executions. So I hope you check that out, but right now I have to get to my point because I know some of you reading this right now aren't going to want to read a whole essay just about Ronnie Lee Gardner.

When I heard about this, I was sort of shocked. I mean, I guess people get executed all the time but death by firing squad? Who should have to die like that?? I started talking about it with my neighbor, and they were a little taken back that I had any sympathy for this criminal. It got me really frustrated, and I couldn't make up my mind about it.

The death penalty is right. It's like the whole "an eye for an eye" philosophy. The convicted person made a choice, and with their choice comes consequences. You only get one life, and this is how they spent it, so they should accept whatever comes their way. They did something so horrible, it's not worth it for them to go on living.

The death penalty is wrong. It's like the whole "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" philosophy. Everyone deserves a second chance, "two wrongs don't make a right". Executing people only makes us murders also, so are we advocating homicides? People can change, many people in jail have been changed from the experience and have served communities countless times.

So what do you think? Let me know, I'm really curious.