Today in Casablanca, a man blew himself up inside a coffeeshop. He killed himself, and seriously injured at least 4 others (see Yahoo News), including another terrorist.
Strange thing is, he had already been convicted of terrorist activities, served prison time, and been released AFTER BEING PARDONED FOR HIS CRIMES.
Seems like the pardon granted him was wasted.
Would we be considered harsh to only offer pardons to people who could somehow PROVE they had really repented of their past criminal acts? Would that be "unmerciful"?
What do you think? Religious and unreligious please respond, and explain your answers.
2007-03-12 14:24:30 · 6 answers · asked by MamaBear 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I don't know how you would decipher between people who truly are sorry and those who are pretending to be sorry in order to get a pardon.
Perhaps there should be more crimes which are not pardonable. Like terrorist activities.
2007-03-12 14:45:38 · answer #1 · answered by Laura H 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
And how do you suggest these people go about proving that they've repented? Obviously it's impossible. So in practice your system would mean anyone who went to prison would be there for life, which is indeed unmerciful.
This man may have killed four people, but if you had your way there'd be thousands more people as good as dead in prisons. The law is based on the principle that it is better to let a thousand guilty men go free than for one innocent man to be punished. I imagine Jesus would be quite pleased with this concept, it's interesting that you're not.
2007-03-12 14:38:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
People who have been proven to have the wherewithall to commit terrorist acts should be put away for good. They don't selectively kill. They just want to blow innocent people apart. Many of us enjoy living and known terrorists have no place in society.
2007-03-12 14:29:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
how could you possibly prove that someone is not going to engage in future criminal behavior? you can't
the only thing you can really say is whether or not it's statistically likely for a person to engage in future criminal behavior, which is really meaningless, you can't keep people in jail just because there is a 5% probability that they might commit some future crime
2007-03-12 14:30:12 · answer #4 · answered by Nick F 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It totally defeats and undermines the purpose of granting a pardon if the person has no remorse for their act(s).
2007-03-12 14:28:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
When you live be the sword you die by the sword.
2007-03-12 14:27:58 · answer #6 · answered by Angelz 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋