"No one walks away victorious" - Napoleon Beazley


For those who don't know about Capital Punishment:

"Capital Punishment or Death Penalty(as many know it), is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime."

Well, I'm no one to decide whether someone should get a death penalty or not. But there has always been few incidents which whenever I come across make me think "Whether giving Capital Punishment was worth it?" or "Why didn't they give the capital punishment, this person deserved it?" Depends on the situation. But law has always been weird. What can one say when most of the Life Imprisonment in India ends in 14 years. Mind it, I said "Life Imprisonment". :|

However, recently I was going through some book, when I came across the last statement of "Napoleon Beazley" who was convicted for murder of a father of Federal Judge. He was one of the last juvenile offenders to be executed in US. Anyways, coming back to his statement that was actually very moving and will definitely make you think on the subject at least once. Here it goes:

"The act I committed to put me here was not just heinous, it was senseless. But the person that committed that act is no longer here - I am. I'm not going to struggle physically against any restraints. I'm not going to shout, use profanity or make idle threats. Understand though that I'm not only upset, but I'm saddened by what is happening here tonight. I'm not only saddened, but disappointed that a system that is supposed to protect and uphold what is just and right can be so much like me when I made the same shameful mistake. If someone tried to dispose of everyone here for participating in this killing, I'd scream a resounding, "No." I'd tell them to give them all the gift that they would not give me...and that's to give them all a second chance. I'm sorry that I am here. I'm sorry that you're all here. I'm sorry that John Luttig died. And I'm sorry that it was something in me that caused all of this to happen to begin with. Tonight we tell the world that there are no second chances in the eyes of justice...Tonight, we tell our children that in some instances, in some cases, killing is right. This conflict hurts us all, there are no SIDES. The people who support this proceeding think this is justice. The people that think that I should live think that is justice. As difficult as it may seem, this is a clash of ideals, with both parties committed to what they feel is right. But who's wrong if in the end we're all victims? In my heart, I have to believe that there is a peaceful compromise to our ideals. I don't mind if there are none for me, as long as there are for those who are yet to come. There are a lot of men like me on death row - good men - who fell to the same misguided emotions, but may not have recovered as I have. Give those men a chance to do what's right. Give them a chance to undo their wrongs. A lot of them want to fix the mess they started, but don't know how. The problem is not in that people aren't willing to help them find out, but in the system telling them it won't matter anyway. No one wins tonight. No one gets closure. No one walks away victorious."

PS: Thanks to TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE to make the statement public.

cya...


Comments

  1. Replies
    1. Also one of the hardest to comment upon...!!!

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  2. I am not against capital punishment but i do agree that it is a very sensitive issue and should be handled very carefully and with a considerable amount of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "considerable amount of time" is itself a tough thing to say, as with time many things changes :/

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