This morning, the 21 year prison sentence given to Anders
Breivik reminded me of why I think the death penalty should be brought back.
I know that when those 21 years are up the Norwegian courts
can sentence Mr Breivik to more jail time, but by the sounds of it, the prison
life he will have does not seem a fair punishment for the unforgivable murder
of 77 people; most of those in their teens.
As a Catholic I will admit my views on abortion and things
such as the death penalty are rather mixed. While I would never judge anyone
who had an abortion, it is something I personally don’t believe in where as the
death penalty is something I do believe in.
While killing someone will not bring back those who were
murdered, why should Mr Breivik, a man who has throughout the trial shown no
remorse for what he did and even attempted to apologise for not killing more
people that day, be allowed to live?
In prison he will have gym equipment, a laptop, and three
rooms.
In cases such as this one where the evidence is undisputable
and a horrendous crime has been committed, why shouldn’t we bring back the
death penalty or even sentence someone to a prison sentence where they have no
luxuries.
Mr Breivik said that an insanity ruling would have been “worse
than death”, so maybe this is what the courts should have ruled. I don’t think he
would have smiled at that.
Some people will read this and disagree with my views on the
death penalty. That’s fine; we are all entitled to our own views.
But how would you feel if you were the mother or sister or
cousin of one of the innocent people murdered by someone showing no remorse?
You should lose your human rights as soon as you take someone
else’s away from them.
