Victims’ families
“The death penalty is not a solution;
it only adds to the spiral of violence..,
that has already killed my son.”
TINA CHERY,
whose son Louis was killed in Massachusetts, U.S
Throughout the world, family members of victims’ families are believed to be supporters of the death penalty. Executions are seen as the instrument by which justice and the need for closure are supposedly served for survivors.
Speaking out against the death penalty is often perceived as an affront to victims. But is that the case? While some victims’ families are indeed in favor of the death penalty, there are also some who see it differently.
Victim family members’ attitudes on the issue can also change over time. Victim relatives who oppose the death penalty come to this assessment through a mixture of experience, attitude, and belief.
“What good will the murderer’s death do us?
Will it bring us back our daughter?
The death penalty is murder of the worst kind: cold, planned, calculating.”
HECTOR BLAKE,
whose daughter was murdered in Georgia, U.S.A
The reasons for victims to oppose the death penalty may include the fact that the death penalty is only a distraction from the real needs of families that arise after a murder; many would rather see the money invested in the death penalty spent on victim protection and assistance, violence prevention, and solving unsolved murders.
They do not want to deal with the trauma of murder over and over again through the lengthy process; some believe for religious reasons that it is always wrong to take a life, or that the death penalty cannot do justice to the life and merits of their loved one.
It is also believed that their wounds cannot be healed by taking another person’s life.
“I am an ardent supporter of the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, because I do not believe that the death of the offender helps anyone.
It doesn’t make victims get over it any faster, it actually creates more suffering and violence, which slows down a healing process even more.”
JO BERRY, whose father was the victim of a bombing in England
Over time, movements such as Murder Victims ‘ Families for Human Rights and the “Journey of Hope” developed, in which victims’ families explicitly speak out against the death penalty.
“When we allow murderers to make us murderers, we give them too much power. They win by opening their way for us to think and act, and we become that which we reject.“
RENNY CUSHING,
whose father was killed in New Hampshire, U.S
Sources and more information: