Declaration of Life

Dissident Heart · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 7:59 pm Post subject: Declaration of Life

Declaration of Life

I, the undersigned, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby in the presence of witnesses make this Declaration of Life.

1. I believe that the killing of one human being by another is morally wrong.

2. I am opposed to capital punishment on any grounds whatsoever.

3. I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to take the life of a human being by way of capital punishment for any reason.

4. I believe that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge.

THEREFORE, I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered.

I believe it is morally wrong for my death to be the reason for the killing of another human being. I request that the Prosecutor or District Attorney having the jurisdiction of the person or persons alleged to have committed my homicide not file or prosecute an action for capital punishment as a result of my homicide.

I request that this Declaration be made admissible in any trial of any person charged with my homicide and read and delivered to the jury.

I request the Court to allow this Declaration to be admissible as a statement of the victim at the sentencing of the person or persons charged and convicted of my homicide; and to pass sentence in accordance with my wishes.

I request that the Governor or other executive officer(s) grant pardon, clemency or take whatever action is necessary to stay and prohibit the carrying out of the execution of any person or persons found guilty of my homicide.

This Declaration is not meant to be, and should not be taken as, a statement that the person or persons who have committed my homicide should go unpunished.

I request that my family and friends take whatever actions are necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Declaration; and I further request them to take no action contrary to this Declaration.

During my life, I want to feel confident that under no circumstances whatsoever will my death result in the capital punishment of another human being.

I request that, should I die under the circumstances as set forth in this Declaration and the death penalty is requested, my family, friends and personal representative deliver copies of this Declaration as follows: to the Prosecutor or District Attorney having jurisdiction over the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the attorney representing the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the judge presiding over the case involving my homicide; for recording, to the Recorder of the County in which my homicide took place and to the Recorder of the County in which the person or persons charged with my homicide are to be tried; to all newspapers, radio and television stations of general circulation in the County in which my homicide took place and the County in which the person or persons charged with my homicide are to be tried; and to any other person, persons or entities my family, friends or personal representative deem appropriate in order to carry out my wishes as set forth herein.

I affirm under the pains and penalties of perjury that the above Declaration of Life is true.

____________________________
DECLARANT signature

____________________________
DECLARANT printed name

____________________________
WITNESS signature

____________________________
Witness printed name

STATE OF___________ COUNTY OF ___________

Before me, a Notary Public in and for said County and State, personally appeared the DECLARANT and acknowledged the execution of the foregoing instrument this ______ day of _________________, 200__. Witness my hand and notarial seal.

___________________
Notary Public

Action Suggestions

1. Consider signing the Declaration of Life. The original copy of the Declaration should be kept with your will or other papers which you have prepared in the event of your death. A copy of the Declaration should be sent to your federal prosecutor and your district attorney. Please send a copy to us as well so that we can monitor national support for this document. Send your copy to: Pax Christi USA, 532 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16502.

2. Voice your concerns with your elected state officials. Share with them the information contained in the backgrounder on the back of this Declaration.

3. Voice your concerns with Attorney General John Ashcroft by writing, calling or faxing to: John Ashcroft, U.S. Attorney General, 20530 (202) 514-2001 phone or fax @ (202) 370-6777.

Dissident Heart · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 9:20 pm Post subject: Bread Not Stones Campaign

Become Part of the Bread Not Stones Network!

Bread Not Stones began as a national Catholic campaign to redirect exorbitant military spending to provide more funds for social needs like health care, education and job training. Pax Christi USA initiated the campaign in response to a statement by its bishop members in which they said, "In a time of unprecedented economic prosperity and budget surpluses, our political leaders cannot find the resources to provide a good education and reliable health care for tens of millions of our nation's children...We view the federal budget as a moral document that must reflect our degree of compassion for those who are poor and suffering in our own society...We must marshal our resources and summon our moral courage to say 'no' to a bloated military budget which robs those who are poor and vulnerable and 'yes' to a budget which helps lift people out of poverty."

Several years after this bishops’ statement, U.S. military spending (under President Bush) has grown even more, and domestic programs, such as after-school programs, have been cut even further. Pax Christi USA members continue to raise concern about these priorities and to advocate for policies which actually safeguard humanity.

You can become part of this network. Sign up to receive periodic updates, including analysis of the military budget and action steps to redirect exorbitant military spending toward social needs. Simply copy the form below and e-mail it to heather@paxchristiusa.org to join our email list, or fax the form to 814-452-4784.

And Coming this year! In 2004, Pax Christi USA is also updating our Bread Not Stones organizing packet for people to use in their communities. It will be available by August.

YES, I WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BREAD NOT STONES CAMPAIGN!!!

NAME ________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ______________________________________________________

CITY/STATE/ZIP _________________________________________________

PHONE_________________________ FAX _________________________

EMAIL_____________________________ (we must have e-mail to get you on our Bread Not Stones e-mail list - most action alerts are sent via e-mail).

Dissident Heart · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 9:39 pm Post subject: Jubilee Justice

How Do We Envision/Proclaim/Enact Jubilee?

In our Personal Lives
In our Communal Lives (Synagogue, Church, Workplace, Community, Family)
In our Political Life - Local
In our Political Life - National
In our Political Life - International

How Do We Practice Shabbat Rhythms of Work/Rest?

Observe religious traditions of sabbath no work, no consumption or production, no technological transport, special celebrations, community and relationships, creativity, practice hospitality, enjoy leisure, teach the value of rest
30-hour work week
Community service vouchers
Alternative technology
Cooperatives
Limit car use, share cars
Job sharing
Workers paid for community service
Influence new management ethos of quality of life in workplace slower work, less stress, retreats; getting workers outdoors, physical activity; facilitating employees connecting and relating
Contemplative prayer group
Living wage campaign
Public service jobs campaign
Shorten store hours
Change shopping habits
Counter the "Instant gratification culture" (the mall as the modern community center)
Need to reroot ourselves in communities

How Do We Let the Land Lie Fallow?

Support urban gardening; develop urban farms
Land trusts
Support organic CSA farms and crop rotation/timber rotation farms
Practice green consuming: don't use environmentally harmful products, overpackaged products
Educate ourselves on food preparation, whole foods, nondisposable foods
Create economic incentives for non-car use; regulate car traffic
Expand funding for public transportation
Support bike usage
Moratorium on research and development - use time for ethical audits
City policy of shutting down for a whole day of paid neighborhood cleanups
No TV for a week campaigns

How Do We Practice Release of Debt/Bondage?

Jubilee 2000 campaign
Vouchers/community service/volunteer programs to cancel student loans
Regulate credit card marketing especially to young people/minors
Only 1 credit card per person
Release yourself from debt - make personal choices of participating in credit economy
Church or Synagogue host a credit-card burning day
Church or Synagogue create alternative community trust funds
Credit unions
Tithings linked to loans
Policies to strengthen social responsibility/ community reinvestment requirements of banks
Prison explore restorative justice as new model for criminal justice system
Practice of personal forgiveness

How Do We Redistribute the Land/Capital?

Community Reinvestment (e.g. the local Delaware Valley Community Reinvestment Fund)
Health coverage
Education - free university education
Personal decisions about investments, inheritance, practice of charity
Life insurance - make a local congregation or community group the beneficiary
Strengthen the transnational labor movement
Strengthen the transnational environmental movement
Push for multinational corporate practices that enhance wages and working conditions (e.g. Nike campaign)
World Bank policies of lending and investment
Oppose free trade agreements like NAFTA expansion
Policies to minimize salary differentials
A maximum wage
Work on different values for salaries
Support reverse advertising; distinguish wants from needs
Progressive tax policies; dedicated taxes
Reinvigorate discussion of the "public" to support policies that enhance the public sphere (including taxation)

Dissident Heart · Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 7:20 pm Post subject: The Ten Commitments

The Ten Commitments
Values for the Spiritual/Religious Left
Rabbi Michael Lerner | 11.05.2004

The Ten Commitments

1. YHVH, God, the Power of Transformation and Healing, is the Ultimate Reality of the Universe and the Source of Transcendent Unity

Aware of the suffering caused by not acknowledging the ultimate Unity of All Being, I vow to recognize every human being as a manifestation of the Divine and to spend more time each day in awe and wonder at the grandeur of Creation.

Aware of the suffering that is caused when we unconsciously pass on to others the pain, cruelty, depression and despair that has been inflicted upon us, I vow to become conscious and then act upon all the possibilities for healing and transforming my own life and being involved in healing and transforming the larger world.

2. Idolatry

Aware of the suffering caused by taking existing social realities, economic security, ideologies, religious beliefs, national commitments, or the gratification of our current desires as the highest value, I vow to recognize only God as the ultimate, and to look at the universe and each part of my life as an evolving part of a larger Totality whose ultimate worth is measured by how close it brings us to God and to love of each other. To stay in touch with this reality, I vow to meditate each day for at least ten minutes and to contemplate the totality of the universe and my humble place in it.

3. Do not take God in Vain

Aware of the suffering caused by religious or spiritual fanaticism, I vow to be respectful of all religious traditions which preach love and respect for the Other, and to recognize that there are many possible paths to God. I vow to acknowledge that we as Jews are not better than others and our path is only one of the many ways that people have heard God's voice. I vow to remain aware of the distortions in our own traditions, and the ways that I myself necessarily bring my own limitations to every encounter with the Divine. So I will practice spiritual humility. Yet I will enthusiastically advocate for what I find compelling in the Jewish tradition and encourage others to explore that which has moved me.

4. Observe the Sabbath

Aware of the suffering produced by excessive focus on "making it" and obtaining material satisfactions, I vow to regularly observe Shabbat (one 25 hour period each week in which we stop all connection with work, money, buying, dominating the world, and focus exclusively on celebration and joy at the grandeur of the universe) as a day in which I focus on celebrating the world rather than trying to control it or maximize my own advantage within it. I will build Shabbat with a community and enjoy loving connection with others. I will use some Shabbat time to renew my commitment to social justice and healing. I will also set aside significant amounts of time for inner spiritual development, personal renewal, reflection, and pleasure.

5. Honor your mother and father

Aware of the suffering caused by aging, disease, and death, I vow to provide care and support for my parents.

Aware that every parent has faults and has inflicted pain on their children, I vow to forgive my parents and to allow myself to see them as human beings with the same kinds of limitations as every other human being on the planet. And I vow to remember the moments of kindness and nurturance, and to let them play a larger role in my memory as I develop a sense of compassion for them and for myself.

6. Do not murder

Aware of the suffering caused by wars, environmental irresponsibility, and eruptions of violence, I vow to recognize the sanctify of life and not to passively participate in social practices that are destructive of the lives of others. I will resist the perpetrators of violence and oppression of others, the poisoners of our environment, and those who demean others or encourage acts of violence. Aware that much violence is the irrational and often self-destructive response to the absence of love and caring, I vow to show more loving and caring energy to everyone around me, to take the time to know others more deeply, and to struggle for a world which provides everyone with recognition and spiritual nourishment.

7. Do not engage in sexual exploitation

Aware of the suffering caused when people break their commitments of sexual loyalty to each other, and the suffering caused by using other people for our own sexual purposes, I vow to keep my commitments and to be fully honest and open in my sexual dealings with others, avoiding deceit or manipulation to obtain my own ends. I will rejoice in my body and the bodies of others, will treat them as embodiments of Divine energy, and will seek to enhance my own pleasure and the pleasure of others around me, joyfully celebrating sex as an opportunity for encounter with the holy. I will do all I can to prevent sexual abuse in adults and children, the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases, and the misuse of sexuality to further domination or control of others. I will respect the diversity of non-expletive sexual expression and lifestyles and will not seek to impose sexual orthodoxies on others.

8. Do not steal

Aware of the suffering caused by an unjust distribution of the world's resources, exploitation, and theft, I vow to practice generosity, to share what I have, and to not keep anything that should belong to others while working for a wise use of the goods and services that are available. I will not horde what I have, and especially will not horde love. I will support a fairer redistribution of the wealth of the planet so that everyone has adequate material well-being, recognizing that contemporary global inequalities in wealth are often the resultant of colonialism, genocide, slavery, theft and the imposition of monetary and trade policies by the powerful on the powerless. In the meantime, I will do my best to support the homeless and others who are in need.

Aware that others sometimes contribute much energy to keeping this community functioning, I will give time and energy to the tasks of building the Tikkun community or some other community of people dedicated to healing and transforming the world, and, when possible, will donate generously of my financial resources and my talents and time.

9. Do not lie

Aware of the suffering caused by wrongful speech, I vow to cultivate a practice of holy speech in which my words are directed to increasing the love and caring in the world. I vow to avoid words that are misleading or manipulative, and avoid spreading stories that I do not know to be true, or which might cause unnecessary divisiveness or harm, and instead will use my speech to increase harmony, social justice, kindness, hopefulness, trust and solidarity. I will be generous in praise and support for others. To heighten my awareness of this commitment, I will dedicate one day a week to full and total holiness of words, refraining from any speech that day which does not hallow God's name or bring joy to others.

10. Do not covet

Aware of the suffering caused by excessive consumption of the world's resources, I vow to rejoice in what I have and to live a life of ethical consumption governed by a recognition that the world's resources are already strained and by a desire to promote ecological sustainability and material modesty. I vow to see the success of others as an inspiration rather than as detracting from my own sufficiency and to cultivate in myself and others the sense that I have enough and that I am enough and that there is enough for everyone.

Dissident Heart · Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:53 pm Post subject: Tikkun Activism

Looking for ways to get active? Check out some Tikkun suggestions:

A. The Progressive Middle Path for Middle East Peace

1. Create a Study Group and have the entire group read, and discuss, chapter by chapter, Healing Israel/Palestine and also The Geneva Accord and Other Strategies for Middle East Peace. If your group has already done this, then provide leadership for another such study group for new people who have come into the group subsequent to the time you finished the study group. Also, have people who already did that group be the leaders of the group the 2nd time around, to get practice in presenting the ideas.

2. Based on those two texts, do role-playing of situations in whichyou have to face people who disagree with our "Middle Path" from either the pro-Occupation or the "one state"/right of return kind of positions. Get to the point where every group member can make the presentation of the Tikkun Middle Path perspective by herself, as well as effectively counter the arguments against our perspective.

3. Create a local teach-in on the current situation as it unfolds in the Spring and Fall of 2005. Invite people from as broad a range of organizations and religious institutions, unions, social change movements, civic organizations, and professional organizations as possible. Use the latest emails from Tikkun and Tikkun magazine as resources. If possibly, approach a local university, college, church, synagogue, mosque, etc. to ask for financial backing to bring a national Tikkun speaker to be part of this teach-in. But also use the opportunity to give members of the group practice in presenting and defending The Tikkun perspective. Use the excellent briefing book prepared by Charlotte Talberth as a way to present information cohesively. Be sure to make extensive outreach to religious communities of all varieties.

4. Set up meeting with your local Congressperson and/or staff and your U.S. Senators and/or staff. Similarly, set up meetings with other elected officials, and other opinion makers. Include labor unions, social change organizations, synagogues, churches, mosques, ashrams. Share with them the briefing book prepared by Charlotte Talberth.Also seek to meet with station managers of radio and t.v. stations in your area, and editorial boards of local newspapers. Present to them the Tikkun Resolution for Middle East Peace, the Geneva Accord, and other positive plans for what could happen. Please send us regular and detailed reports of what has happened at those meetings, including what people said back (who said what and what you said in response)-so we can learn from you and share that information with other local Tikkun Communities.

5. Recruit people to attend our annual Teach-In to Congress for Middle East Peace (date tentatively set for the last weekend in April). Prepare people for the possible need for non-violent peaceful civil disobedience and arrests if the U.S. doesn't change its support for the Occupation.

6. Recruit people to participate in our Mission to Support the Israeli Peace Movement (trip to Israel/Palestine Oct. 16-25).

7. Put on local ballot or seek local city council to endorse our Resolution for Middle East Peace. Goal is not necessarily to win that, but to use that as an opportunity for a major public education campaign.

8. Recruit people to go to Israel or Palestine in event of elections to help support the peace movement efforts around those elections.

9. Avoid campaigns aimed at punishing Israel or exposing Israel's sins-they only polarize without much potential for good outcome. Instead, focus on developing public support for a solution that is fair to both sides-like the Geneva Accord or like Tikkun's Resolution for Middle East Peace.

B. The Politics of Meaning: Creating a Spiritually-Attuned Left by Promoting a New Bottom Line of Love, Kindness, Generosity, and Awe & Wonder

1. Create a Study Group focused on Spirit Matters: Global Healing and the Wisdom of the Soul and The Politics of Meaning. . If your group has already done this, then provide leadership for another such study group for new people who have come into the group subsequent to the time you finished the study group. Also, have people who already did that group be the leaders of the group the 2nd time around, to get practice in presenting the ideas. Based on those two texts, do role-playing of situations in which you have to face people who disagree with our politics of meaning either because they think it is too visionary and radical, or because they can't stand anything that is connected to spiritual issues, or because they disagree with some specific part of the plan, or whatever. Get to the point where every group member can make the presentation of the politics of meaning perspective by herself, as well as effectively counter the arguments against our perspective .

2.Set up meetings with your local Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party, and any other political parties, and present the perspective on the New Bottom Line in American society. We are not a partisan political group, and there is no reason why our ideas should only be of concern to one party. Of course, if it turns out that some groups are more responsive to the idea of a Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and other acts to create social responsibility for corporations than others, then it makes sense to give them more energy to pursue the ideas.

3. Set up meetings with local labor unions, civic organizations, social change organizations, etc. to help them understand the "meaning needs" and how a politics of meaning could meet those needs. Show them how a politics of meaning is the key to the success of the rest of the progressive agenda.

4. Ask your local city council to endorse the Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S Constituton or put a voter-generated ballot initiative or referendum on the ballot for public debate and vote

5. Create a group to talk about a New Bottom Line in your workplace or profession, and then have a time in local Tikkun Community meetings to discuss what you've learned.

6. Come to the 4-5 day seminar of Spiritual Activists in summer of 2005 and recruit others to do so

7. Create a Labor Day celebration on Monday, September 5th, aimed at honoring people's work or professional life, and at jump-starting a discussion of what a New Bottom Line could look like. Try to get hundreds of people to come to such a gathering (could have the form of a picnic and sing-along that also has a serious part in which we honor each other's work and begin this serious discussion about New Bottom Line).

8. Create a "Meaning Advisory Board for the Progressive Movement" and periodically issue statements to local activists about how they could reframe their struggles in terms that would be more inclusive of the spiritual and meaning-orientation of the American public.

9. Leaflet churches and synagogues and mosques with our message-the best way to serve God is to challenge the materialism and selfishness promoted by the corporations and the competitive marketplace. Inivte people to come to your local meetings.

10. Create local meetings with opinion shapers and media and continually put forward meaning-oriented critiques of the way the media denies or subverts the spiritual and meaning concerns of the American public.

11. Run a meaning-oriented candidate for public office.

12. Seek to have schools include teaching caring in their local curricula. See the education chapter in Spirit Matters for guidance on this.

13. Work with our national eco-kosher project to develop ethical consumption-(eco kashrut) so that people buy only those goods that have been produced in ways that are ecologically sustainable and socially just

14. Organize an anti-war demonstration in 2005 that has as its central focus the positive vision of how to achieve homeland security (Global Marshall Plan, etc.) or else seek leadership in existing anti-war coalitions and push for our perspective. Use the briefing book being developed by Charlottte Talberth on our perspective on peace and security to help get our position taken seriously.

15. Hold a public forum and challenge the Left to move beyond its knee jerk antagonism to meaning and spiritual related issues.

Edited by: Dissident Heart at: 11/23/04 9:49 pm

Interbane · Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject: Evil Catalyst

Dissident: I changed this.

I, the undersigned, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby in the presence of witnesses make this Declaration of Free Will.

1. I believe that the punishment of one human being by another is morally wrong.

2. I am opposed to punishment on any grounds whatsoever.

3. I believe it is morally wrong for any state or other governmental entity to punish a human being for any reason.

4. I believe that punishment is not a deterrent to crime and serves only the purpose of revenge.

THEREFORE, I hereby declare that should I die as a result of a violent crime, I request that the person or persons found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the any punishment under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered.

I believe it is morally wrong for my death to be the reason for the punishment of another human being. I request that the Prosecutor or District Attorney having the jurisdiction of the person or persons alleged to have committed my homicide not file or prosecute an action for punishment as a result of my homicide.

I request that this Declaration be made admissible in any trial of any person charged with my homicide and read and delivered to the jury.

I request the Court to allow this Declaration to be admissible as a statement of the victim at the sentencing of the person or persons charged and convicted of my homicide; and to pass sentence in accordance with my wishes.

I request that the Governor or other executive officer(s) grant pardon, clemency or take whatever action is necessary to stay and prohibit the carrying out of punishment in any form for any person or persons found guilty of my homicide.

I request that my family and friends take whatever actions are necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this Declaration; and I further request them to take no action contrary to this Declaration.

During my life, I want to feel confident that under no circumstances whatsoever will my death result in punishment of another human being.

I request that, should I die under the circumstances as set forth in this Declaration and the death penalty is requested, my family, friends and personal representative deliver copies of this Declaration as follows: to the Prosecutor or District Attorney having jurisdiction over the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the attorney representing the person or persons charged with my homicide; to the judge presiding over the case involving my homicide; for recording, to the Recorder of the County in which my homicide took place and to the Recorder of the County in which the person or persons charged with my homicide are to be tried; to all newspapers, radio and television stations of general circulation in the County in which my homicide took place; and to any other person, persons or entities my family, friends or personal representative deem appropriate in order to carry out my wishes as set forth herein.

I affirm under the pains and penalties of perjury that the above Declaration of Life is true.

____________________________
DECLARANT signature

____________________________
DECLARANT printed name

____________________________
WITNESS signature

____________________________
Witness printed name

STATE OF___________ COUNTY OF ___________

Before me, a Notary Public in and for said County and State, personally appeared the DECLARANT and acknowledged the execution of the foregoing instrument this ______ day of _________________, 200__. Witness my hand and notarial seal.

___________________
Notary Public

Having a murderer make a person sign this before the act would make a good storyline.

Varied morals... Who's to say one person's morals are better than another persons? Could the court deny a letter such as the above if it were shown to have been written in good faith?

MadArchitect · Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject: Re: Evil Catalyst

Could the court deny a letter such as the above if it were shown to have been written in good faith?

I don't see why not. The letter would theoretically be valid if it were the express purpose of capital punishment to return tit for tat. But I doubt any state in the Union, and perhaps the same goes for any nation with capital punishment law, would admit that it's laws were essentially a form of government sanctioned revenge. There are other reasons for capital punishment -- it's instituted as a form of deterent, for example. So even in the presence of a letter of intent such as this, I think most courts that already trade in capital punishment would continue to do so on other grounds.

Dissident Heart · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:23 pm Post subject: Re: Evil Catalyst

Interbane,

Replacing Capital Punishment with simply Punishment is a substantial change.

The first reflects a principle that rejects any and all killing of human beings- even the killing of those who have killed. This is fairly clear, at least when Capital Punishment is understood as an immediate act by the State to kill: by hanging, electrocution, bullet, guillotine, throwing off a cliff, pulverizing with stones, poisonous gas, etc.

The second is not as clear and requires a careful definition of what Punishment means. If Punishment means teaching a lesson to the offender and future offenders that certain acts will result in Misery for those commiting them, then that would push your alteration in one direction.

If Punishment means stopping an offender from violating another, keeping them from harming themselves or others, as a necessary step towards mending the wounds of the crime without inflicting more, then obviously your Declaration would mean something different.

The first definition rests upon a hunger for Revenge and a distorted philosophy of education that sees inflicting pain and misery as a useful pedagogical tool.

The second definition rests upon a desire for Justice where Mercy directs the reorientation of the offender towards Peace, avoiding adding to the cycle of violence that vengeance creates.

Interbane: Varied morals... Who's to say one person's morals are better than another persons?

Each of us say what we will and do as we decide. There is no geographic or moral space to stand outside of the discussion in order to achieve a 'birds eye view' of the multiple perspectives, thus avoiding the subjective angst of actual decision making.

Saying, "No one moral perspective is better, or worse!" is to make a moral statement, already taking a moral stand, and making a moral decision.

There aint no easy way out.

Dissident Heart · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:31 pm Post subject: Re: Evil Catalyst

Interbane: Could the court deny a letter such as the above if it were shown to have been written in good faith?

The Court could deny the letter any jurisdiction over the Court's decision to inflict Capital Punishment. Just because the victim of the crime rejects capital punishment for his/her offender, does not mean the State is obliged to follow suit. Like MA said, the State has many reasons for inflicting Capital Punishment- even if they are not openly stated.

As I see it, Capital Punishment, from the perspective of the State, is not about deterrence or revenge but about terror. The State reserves the right to terrorize its Citizens, to inflict brutal harm and death, and to keep its Citizens in a constant state of fear and loathing of themselves and the State. Capital Punishment is the ultimate reminder regarding who is in charge and what such power entails.

Interbane · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject: Re: Evil Catalyst

Dissident: "The State reserves the right to terrorize its Citizens, to inflict brutal harm and death, and to keep its Citizens in a constant state of fear and loathing of themselves and the State. Capital Punishment is the ultimate reminder regarding who is in charge and what such power entails."

Let's say a man comes by your house during Christmas time and murders your whole family. This man was once in prison, and wants to go back, since the food is good and he's taken care of. You'd oblige him by denying the death sentence, therefore wasting hundreds of thousands or of your tax dollars to keep him alive and well fed in an institution that he has come to know as home. Where is the power of love you have for your family? Justice is in the mind of the beholder, and in this case the one way to enact justice is denied through your action.

If you say that you love your family with all your heart, yet still would follow through with the above, I truly cannot find any way to comprehend this. This is a prime example of going in the right direction, yet going a little too far.

Dissident Heart · Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: Evil Catalyst

Interbane: This man was once in prison, and wants to go back, since the food is good and he's taken care of. You'd oblige him by denying the death sentence, therefore wasting hundreds of thousands or of your tax dollars to keep him alive and well fed in an institution that he has come to know as home.

I strongly suggest you do some research into the quality of prison life...the terror, fear, loneliness, depression, alcohol and drug addiction, violence, rape, ignorance, and gradual numbing of one's capacity to care or love...all of which have nothing to do with Justice, and everything to do with Misery.

The waste of tax dollars is criminal, as is much of what we call the Prison Industrial System. My rejecting the Death Penalty for this Offender is an act of Justice; whereas sending him back into the Academy for Criminal Sciences (Prison) is a crime.

So what to do? Let the offender go free? Actually, this habitual murderer has probably never been free in his life: a victim himself at an early age, trapped in an abused body, guided by a tortured mind, and subject to the whims of the most perverse of appetites and habits. In a sense, Freedom is exactly what he needs. Which is what all of us need. Which is the purpose of Justice, to protect Freedom.

If I limit my Love to only my Family, and not to the Offender, then I am unable to love either.

Justice does not play favorites, nor does Love.


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