Old Sparky and Gruesome Gertie (affectionate names for the electric chair) have taken the lives of many, even the innocent (Finnerty 18). They are prejudiced and lack compassion. However, many Americans believe that they represent justice. Capital punishment does not represent justice, but vengeance and hate. Among the 7,000 people estimated to have been killed in the United States between 1900 and 1985, at least 23 were innocent (Finnerty 18). In at least 8 of 261 executions performed since 1976, something went wrong; for example, the executioner couldn’t find a good vein, or the first jolt of electricity failed to do the trick (Finnerty 18). An innocent person, let alone 23 that were wrongfully executed might seem insignificant to one. Just for a moment think if that one person was your brother or father, and they were innocent! Would you then see that the American judicial system is imperfect, and that capital punishment should be abolished? Capital punishment is wrong and should be abolished because of its imperfections, high cost, and immoral existence.
Many people argue that we should keep practicing capital punishment because it would be a waste of money to sentence someone to life in prison. Facts show that it is more expensive to give someone the death sentence than life in prison. The cost of state execution is up to three times the cost of lifetime imprisonment (Dority 37). So many people are convinced that it is cheaper to practice capital punishment, but those people are not aware of the facts to be presented. If someone is interested in saving “tax payer’s dollars,” it is much cheaper to sentence someone to life in prison. The reason that life imprisonment…
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…dical treatment that they deserve, not death. Capital punishment is an ineffective deterrent that only demonstrates violence for society (Dority 37). We are teaching society that it is acceptable to kill. We are saying that revenge is justifiable. Racism is no stranger to capital punishment. The death penalty wants to save as many white people as it can, and kill as many black people as possible. Violence begets violence, and murder begets murder. The violent crimes that capital punishment attempts to control will only increase if we, the people, do not demand moral alternatives to state sanctioned murder.
Works Cited
Dority, Barbara. “Not in My Name.” The Humanist March/April 1993: 36-37.
Finnerty, Amy. “Sunday: Six Facts.” The New York Times Magazine 5 February 1995: 18.
Monagle, Katie. “The Death Penalty.” Update 4 September 1992: 13-15.
Othello’s Jealousy
Othello
When we first begin Othello, we see the start of what we believe to be a beautiful marriage between Othello and Desdemoda. However, at the end, we are faced with the tragic murder of Desdemoda by her dear Othello, bringing this marriage to a gruesome end. We’re left with a sense of horror, sorrow, and bewilderment. How could this have happened? Why did Othello, how did Othello, go from a doting husband to a furious killer? The obvious answer is that Iago deceived him into thinking that Desdemoda had been unfaithful to him. But what caused Othello’s quickness to believe? How was this not cleared up? Multiple factors contributed to this tragedy. One of these is the huge amount of jealousy throughout the play, which motivate the characters to complete their actions.
Jealousy is a factor in Desdemoda’s end from the very beginning. The Shakespeare Navigator stated, “After Desdemona makes it clear that she loves and honors her husband, Brabantio remains vindictive, and bitterly warns Othello that Desdemona may turn out to be a slut: ‘Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: / She has deceived her father, and may thee” (1.3.292-293).’ No father has ever expressed a more hateful jealousy of his son-in-law.” Brabantio is obviously hurt by Desdemoda’s abandonment of him, and is jealous of Othello’s newly acquired possession of his pride and joy. The warning that he gives in jealousy plants the seed of doubt in Othello’s mind, a seed that Iago later would begin to cultivate and bring to fruition.
Iago is perhaps the most jealous character within the entire play. Even he knows he is jealous, stating, “I confess, it is my nature’s plague / To spy into abuses, and oft my jealousy / Shapes faults that are not” (3.3.146-148). Jeal…
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…e made him unappealing to Desdemoda. In contrast, Cassio is a Florentine, a white man, with a soft way of speaking, and younger than Othello, which, in Othello’s eyes, makes him much more desirable to Desdemoda. Then, after being told that Cassio most likely has slept with his wife, it is too much; jealousy completely overtakes reason, and Othello murders Desdemoda.
As we can see, jealousy is a theme throughout the play. Multiple characters suffer from and are motivated by it, and their actions, pushed by the power of jealousy, ultimately lead to Othello’s murdering Desdemoda. The jealousy of Brabantio, Iago, Emelia, and Othello all contribute to the sequence of events that lead to Desdemoda’s demise. This play can serve as a warning to us all; jealousy can creep in upon us, and often take control, leading us to do things that will eventually result in disaster.