My beliefs regarding the death penalty were very much affected by watching Dead Man Walking. I had never really considered the pain of the family of the person on death row. Most parents never stop their child, no matter how heinous a crime he or she committed. Siblings, too, can still be very attached to their brother or sister. The family of the crime victim is not the only the family that experiences the pain of losing a loved one. I have also never really considered that death row inmates could be sympathetic and repentant. Matthew Poncelet, at many times repulsed me, however, by the end of the movie, I found it difficult not to feel sorry for him.
I am now unsure of how to feel about the death penalty. I maintain that serial killers should receive death sentences simply because they are too great a threat to the public. If they escape while serving a life sentence in prison, they would kill again, as Ted Bundy did. However, in the case of non-serial killers, I do not know how to feel.
While researching the death penalty in class, I have been shocked learn about the sheer number of executions that have taken place in the United States in recent years. I always figured death sentences were rather rare. It hard to wrap my head around the fact that government has ended so many lives so methodically and indifferently. I also find it curious that according to research southern states seem so much more willing to execute people. Finally, I would like to know more about the estimated number people on death penalty, who are actually innocent of the crime they were convicted of.
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