Book of the Month: Debating the Death Penalty
As I’ve been diving into the world of politics, I have found that the topic of the death penalty is one of those topics people have a hard time landing on. I know for me personally, I have teetered on the fence of not knowing what I feel about it. On one hand, I had a friend from my childhood who was killed by a serial killer, and seeing her murderer get the penalty for killing her felt justified. While on the other hand, I can see the holes in our criminal justice system that would make me not trust using the penalty as a punishment. Ultimately, I don’t feel comfortable taking a life even if it seems justified. All that to say, I still straddle the fence on the topic which leads me to a research spiral.
In my research, I came across the book, Debating the Death Penalty several times. I found this book super interesting because of the debate-style writing. It introduces opinions of abolitionists (people who want to abolish the death penalty) and retentionists (people who want to retain the death penalty). In introducing these opinions, it gave insightful thoughts on why we should keep it and why we should abolish it. Not only that, but it also has a TON of references for future research!
I’m not sure I’m any farther in my opinion of the death penalty in the United States, but now I feel like I have a lot more case studies to chew on and sit with while I figure out my opinion!
Like always, if you choose to read this book, I would encourage you to ask yourself the following questions as you read:
What is something new that I learned from this book?
Did a concept or idea challenge you in any way?
Are there any points, ideas, or concepts of inspiration?
Is there any idea or concept that I can implement in my life?
If you decide to read and discuss the book with your friend(s), be sure to use the hashtag #teachlistenlove so I can be a part of your journey!