LETTERS: DEATH PENALTY IS NEEDED

To the editor:

Much has been said and written about the American Bar Association's opposition to the death penalty. Likewise, Cape Girardeau County's prosecuting attorney, Morley Swingle, has been complimented and condemned for reacting by terminating his ABA membership. Most people use the Bible to justify their positions.

Death-penalty supporters rely on Exodus 21:24, "An eye for an eye," while opponents quote the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." In reality, neither refers to the death penalty. Certain punishment in early biblical times included the loss of an eye -- or hand or foot. Hence, "An eye for an eye." "Thou shalt not kill" is a guideline for individual lifestyles, not a restriction on society's judicial process. The Bible does, of course, address the death penalty.

Exodus 21:12 states, "He that smiteth a man, so they he die, shall be surely put to death." Numbers 35:31 says, "A murderer ... shall be surely put to death." Jesus, in Matthew 19, referencing the Ten Commandments, reworded "Thou shalt not kill" to "Thou shalt do no murder." Genesis 9:6 is straightforward: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." Matthew 18 goes farther: "Whoso shall offend ... it were better ... that he were drowned." Is that cruel and unusual, as the Supreme Court has ruled some penalties? A much higher Supreme Being delivered the scripture.

The death penalty seems appropriate for the repeat offender who won't blend with society -- the criminal who murders at will, rapes at random, kills and mains with bombs. But I do not view such as punishment, but rather as society ridding itself of violent persons. It will not deter an offender, because criminals do not believe they will be caught.

Capital punishment is probably wrong for the revenge or soft-core criminal whose rehabilitation is possible. Those criminals, along with the tax evader, bank robber and drug lords should not be provided color TVs, warm meals, air conditioning, weight rooms, but rather given a sandwich and a hammer and instructed to turn a large rock into small pebbles. They should pick up trash along the highways, dig ditches, repair and paint buildings, cut weeds and trim trees as well as pay room and board while jailed. If they can afford booze and drugs on the outside, they can pay for their food and bed while incarcerated.

Former Circuit Judge Al Seier used such ingenuity. We need more judges like him, and fewer federal and Supreme Court judges -- and even fewer ABAs and ACLUs.

Congratulations, Morley Swingle, for standing your ground. The rest of us should take note.

ROD DEAN

Chaffee