| Capital Punishment: America’s Great Hypocrisy
By Jason Goudlock, Prisonersolidarity.org
Sept. 28, 2005 On Sept. 26 2005, I began my day with my usual routine of turning on my TV and listening to the morning news, as I brushed my teeth and washed my face. The news headlines were usually about somebody getting shot or somebody getting into a car accident. On this particular day, though, the headlines started with a story about a guy named Willie Williams, a prisoner on Ohio’s death row who was convicted of murder in the early 1990s. Williams was scheduled to go before the parole board one last time before his scheduled execution date of October 25, where he might be granted clemency, and have his death sentence commuted. I didn’t think much about this story when I first heard it, but later that day, out of nowhere, the story just popped up into my mind and wouldn’t go away. As I was reflecting on the news, the thought occurred to me that somebody (Williams) was actually about to literally, legally, be murdered! In the past I never paid much attention to the death penalty, perhaps because I’ve never been faced with the reality of being on death row, but after giving some thought on the matter, I asked myself, how could the United States openly embrace God, and yet simultaneously approve of killing someone through the guise of capital punishment? This was sheer hypocrisy! The United States prints a currency that bears the words, “In God We Trust,” yet it sanctions a capital punishment that clearly violates God’s commandment that, “Thou shall not kill.” The commandment doesn’t read, “Thou shall not kill*,” with an asterisk referencing an exception to the United States. There is nothing ambiguous about the phrase, “Thou Shall Not Kill.” It means what it says, and says what it means. A country cannot be a true follower of God while constantly killing people out of vengeance. Just the other day, I read an article about a renowned TV evangelist (Pat Robertson) who made the suggestion on his nationally televised show that the United States should consider assassinating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez! Unreal! The United States is involved throughout the world in various affairs in the said interest of promoting humanity and justice. Billions of dollars have been spent, and thousands of lives lost, fighting wars for this cause abroad. It seems as if the United States has zero tolerance for any kind of atrocities. On its own soil, though, it facilitates them. Any time someone is allowed to kill out of vengeance, which is exactly what capital punishment is — a retaliatory, vengeful, act of murder — it is an atrocity. Until the United States abolishes the death penalty, it will be and shall be seen as the biggest hypocrite in the world&. Jason Goudlock, #284-561
Ohio State Penitentiary
878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd.
Youngstown, OH 44505-4635 —
Mr. Goudlock has aspirations of becoming an entrepreneur, in the interest of philanthropic advancement. He is also an aspiring athlete in the sport of basketball. You may contact Jason Goudlock directly by writing to him at the address listed above. The following link offers tips for writing to prisoners: https://prisonersolidarity.org/TipsForWritingPrisoners.htm |