The following are extracts from an editorial entitled...

The following are extracts from an editorial entitled "Why Death Penalty Should Be Abolished?" by John Dzvinamurungu, vice-chairman of Amnesty International Zimbabwe.
"Nobody knows the exact number of innocent victims of execution. Cruel, arbitrary and irrevocable, the death penalty is imposed disproportionately on the poor and powerless. It is high time the death penalty is abolished worldwide. Everywhere experience shows that executions brutalise those involved in the process. Nowhere has it been shown that the death penalty has any power to reduce crime or political violence. In many different countries it is used disproportionately against the poor or against racial or ethnic minorities. It is often used as a tool of political repression. The death penalty is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. Indeed, it makes the state the killer. The state can exercise no greater power over a person than that of deliberately depriving him /her of life. At the heart of the case of the abolition, therefore is the question of whether the state has the right to do so.
"The death penalty should be abolished for a host of reasons. It is undesirable because it robs society - with proper rehabilitation the convicted person might become a useful resource and a tool in the development of society. It is inhuman and is fraught with retribution which serves no useful purpose. An execution cannot restore life or lessen the loss to the victim's families. Again the death penalty is morally abominable because it has made men assume the role of the ultimate decider of life and death, which is the preserve of God alone. From the Bible we are reminded that God had harsh words for Cain for killing his brother Abel Genesis 4 vs. 9-15. While acknowledging the general feeling of society is that punishment should be given relative to the crime. capital punishment is wrong because two wrongs don't make a right. Murdering the murderer is another form of murder. Apart from the foregoing, the death penalty is irrevocable and can be inflicted on an innocent person. Despite the most stringent judicial standards, human error cannot be ruled out, resulting in innocent people being executed."