Jehanne

Everyone,

I sent the below letter to Governor Bob Riley of the State of Alabama via their website a short time ago. I have deleted my name & address but would like to offer the letter to the forum for your thoughts and comments!

Dear Governor Riley,

I am writing to appeal for clemency for George Sibley.

While I sympathize greatly with Mr. Sibley's victim and his family, I firmly believe that executing him would be morally wrong and would not serve our society's interests. I am writing to request that you grant him clemency and commute his sentence to one of life imprisonment.

Space and time will not allow me to fully develop my thoughts, but I would like you to consider that the human race is on the verge of another revolution in human thought. Several such revolutions have occurred throughout human history, beginning with the Copernican Revolution, in which Galileo demonstrated that the Earth does, indeed, "move." In doing so, Galileo showed that the Bible and the Catholic Church, once thought to be inerrant, were, in fact, fallible. In the following decades and centuries, Science and the scientific method began to slowly replace religious thought and belief, and with Charles Darwin's publication "On the Origin of Species", the scientific process and method would forever dominate religious belief and Western thought.

With the demise of religious belief (in the Western World, at least), modern science has provided humanity with new sets of moral principles. To give one brief example, slavery is no longer tolerated in the Western World, even though such a practice was once ubiquitously accepted in the South and was widely justified by appealing to the Bible. Another example is the use of contraceptives and other birth control devices. Once condemned by all Protestant denominations, the use of artificial contraception is very widespread in the Western World. Even Italy, a highly Catholic nation, has one of the lowest birth rates in the World.

Science has shown humankind many wonderful things about our World and the Cosmos and has uncovered many of Nature's secrets. As a consequence, many more of us are able to live happier and healthier (and longer) lives. Science has also uncovered many of Nature's secrets that deal with human psychology and behavior. As a consequence, the mentally ill are no longer treated in a barbaric manner nor are they burned alive as often occurred in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

In its explorations of the mind, Science has shown us that human consciousness has its genesis within the billions of neurons and glial cells of our brains and the trillions of synaptic connections between those cells. Consequently, it is almost certainly true that there is no "ghost within the human machine". Rather, the brain is the "organ of the mind", and when a person dies, the conscious element of that person ceases to exist.

This is why executing people is wrong. Saying to an individual that he/she will "cease to exist" on a particular day at a particular time is morally unacceptable. To quote the late Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek), "Death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others, which is why it is not an end, but a beginning." Death is a state of "nothingness", an "endless, dreamless" sleep in which a "person" experiences no emotions, no thoughts and no memories. This is why the death penalty constitutes "cruel and unusual" punishment.

Difficult to comprehend? It is for me! What is it like not to exist? As somber as this thought is, it constitutes the reality of the Universe in which we evolved and now inhabit. Six or so months after conception Nature gave us consciousness. Several years after that she gave us memories. However, in my life, as well as yours, there will come a time when Nature will take those priceless gifts away from us and we will return from where we came -- a state of "nothingness" and nonexistence.

Please spare George Sibley. History will someday applaud your actions.

Sincerely,

INRI

Sorry for this, but I tried to look at that he(they) did but was not able to find information, so what did happen? why is he on death row?

Viti

From here

Sarpedon

It really is irrevelant what he did or why, the letter is a moral appeal to Gov Riley against the death penalty.

I doubt the good Gov will agree that religion has met its "demise" in the western world. Or that the fact that a person ceases to exist on dying changes the basic necessity of judicial killing. Does it?

Viti

It was important to INRI. Not everyone is against the death penalty completely.

Jehanne, I fail to see exactly how your argument here works
How is non-existence cruel and unusual punishment, or punishment at all? Without pain or consciousness there is no person to suffer or lament their own passing. The person isn't sleeping, they are no more. You are asserting that it is wrong and unacceptable, but have failed, in my opinion, to show why.

Also, the reference to Gene Roddenberry is bound to be lost on a Southern Conservative.

Jehanne

Granted, when a person dies, all pain and happiness, indeed, every thought, feeling and emotion ceases to be. So, death itself should not be feared. However, knowing that one will cease to exist tomorrow at 7:08 AM would probably be one of the most unsettling experiences imaginable. Given the wording of the 8th Amendment, death itself may someday constitute “cruel and unusual�? punishment.

Maybe not. Star Trek had (and has) wide appeal throughout the United States (and, to a lesser extent, the World). I once knew a priest who was a devoted Star Trek fan, but many people exposed to Star Trek may not know that its creator, Gene Roddenberry, was a humanist and a materialist. I feel that quoting someone more common would have a greater appeal than quoting an atheistic philosopher.

INRI

Thanks for the link LadyShea, I found that one too, and the only thing I could find is that she killed a cop and he was somehow an "accomplice" to it. I currently do support the death penalty, but do have a problem with how it is used in the US currently. I haven't found out why she killed the cop, but have read she was in the high inteligence range... humz, maybe I'll look more.

Jehanne

It was my impression that Canadians were “by and large�? opposed to the death penalty. Given that the “religious right�? supports capital punishment and that you as a “strong atheist�? (according to your profile, at least) support it, why do you think that there is no death penalty in Canada?

Tom Sawyer

Is it because people are allowed to have some opinions that differ slightly from the main groups they are part of?

Jehanne

I suppose that it would be like a "strong atheist" who supported Pat Robertson for President. Sure, such is possible, but I cannot help but wonder, “Why?�?