COMMENTARY: Regarding the Casey Anthony verdict in Florida

Casey Anthony, was arrested on July 18, 2008 and indicted on charges of first degree murder on October 14, 2008, and was facing the death penalty

Regardless of her real innocence or guilt, Casey Anthony’s acquittal of murder signals a great victory for justice over the death penalty which is barbaric, inhumane and which lowers us to the level of the murderer we are trying to convict and eliminate.

The primary scope of any penalty is to redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of expiation. Moreover, punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute to the correction of the offender.

If bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. The Fifth Commandment states: “Thou shall not murder”.

Today, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crimes, the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not non-existent.

There ultimately remains no moral justification for imposing a sentence of death. Violence begets violence both in our hearts and in our actions. By continuing the tradition of responding to killing with state-sanctioned killing, we rob ourselves of moral consistency and perpetuate that which we seek to sanction.

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6 Comments

  1. Anthony
    July 8, 2011

    There is definately something wrong about the entire case that fingers were not placed on properly..maybe she really is’nt guilty. Did we ever found out who was that little girl’s dad? She carries the last name Anthony – Could she be her mom’s sister or niece?. Lord help and forgive those involved and may that little angel rest in peace.

  2. Wow
    July 8, 2011

    Caging someone for the rest of their natural life can be regarded as being inhumane or barbaric…. So here goes the argument….we must have some form of a deterrent….remember as a child we seldom heard of murders in dominica….(When the death penalty was allowed)?…I wonder what happened to the security we once felt on our little island

  3. mouth of the south
    July 8, 2011

    casey would always be given the not guilty verdict,,, to prove murder it has to be beyond reasonable doubt,,, the prosecution was weak on that,,, no proof of she killing her kin,,, just assumptions and emotions,,, we may believe she did it,,, but fact remains there’s no proof,,, now the only proof there is,,, she lied to the cops and so they’ll get her the maximum 4 yrs just to ensure she feel something lol,,,

  4. Jespen
    July 8, 2011

    barbaric and inhumane only because someone hasn’t yet killed your mud*********

    • Dante
      July 8, 2011

      Well, Jespen, from your comment, I can only assume you would be in a crowd cheering to see someone’s head chopped off with a guillotine whether or not you had ever heard of the criminal before.

      • Jespen
        July 8, 2011

        If i steal from you, do feel free chapping off both hands, just so you are sure that i will never use my hands to steal from you again.

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