Anna Quindlen, writing in the June 26 issue of Newsweek , labels capital punishment “The Failed Experiment”. She trots out the standard missives against capital punishment.

First – we are one of the few countries that kill people to make clear what a terrible thing killing people is. This is a variation of the frequently heard “state sponsored murder” argument.

Equating capital punishment with murder is the same as equating imprisonment with kidnapping, or a fine with stealing. The inability to see the difference between murder and capital punishment is a direct result of moral relativism - a belief that morality is culturally based, subject to a person's individual choice and with no absolutes.

The second argument presented by Ms. Quindlen against capital punishment is that innocent people are sometime wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to death. While there is no known case in the United States of an innocent person being put to death, it is not unreasonable to think it might happen. There would be nothing more terrible and every day we take significant steps forward (DNA tests, etc.) to ensure that does not happen.

However, we should not lose sight of the fact that punishments are designed to punish the guilty, not protect the innocent. The idea that the punishment should not be too severe because some innocent people may be hurt is ultimately a ridiculous one. If carried through to it’s illogical conclusion, no convicted criminal should ever be punished, because what sentence would be fair for an innocent person?

In the end, either we believe in punishing people found guilty of crimes, or we don’t, knowing full well that our system is imperfect and occasionally an innocent person will be wrongly convicted and sentenced.

The only valid reason for questioning the death penalty is a moral one. Regardless of your personal point of view, there are very compelling reasons from the other side of discussion. Good, moral people can fall on either side of this debate.

As a nation, either we believe innocent life is so precious that those who wantonly destroy it forfeit their lives in exchange, or we don’t. It’s that simple.