Death Penalty

* By definition “Death Penalty” is regarded as the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes that are usually violent and hurtful to people (Capital Crimes – “concerning the head”).

*The “pros” of the Death Penalty:

1.       It is the ultimate warning

2.       It acts as a deterrent

3.       It keeps jails from being overpopulated

4.       It keeps citizens safe

5.       It acts as “retribution” to the victim

*The flaws (“cons”) of the Death Penalty:

1.       Money

2.       Injustice (Social Division/Bias/Discrimination)

3.       The reaction of the Public

4.       “We are the state. When the “state” kills, we are participants.”

5.       It doesn’t actually stop people from doing crimes

6.       It teaches the condemned nothing

7.       It ruins the chance for reformation

8.       Unjust Trial

* Injustice and Biased Trials – Death Penalty crumbles the chance of an accused to prove himself innocent. Also, most of the time the poor are put on to trial with much bias and discrimination when they are put up against someone with “power” (Corrupted Judiciary System).

*People who were falsely convicted and put in to the Death Row (but were able to prove their innocence):

1.       Rolando Cruz (Convicted: 1985, Released: 1995)

2.       Troy Lee Jones (C: 1982, R: 1996)

3.       Peter Limone (C: 1968, R: 2001)

4.       Debra Milke (C: 1990, R: 2015)

5.       Anthony Clinton (C: 1985, R: 2015)

*It goes against our mission to “Protect life from womb to tomb”.

* It as an offense against life because as children of God we are called to love, forgive, and guide our neighbours. Death Penalty goes against that. It hinders a person from actually realizing his wrongs and becoming a better person. It doesn’t give that person a chance to change and it doesn’t really give closure to the victim and that victim’s relatives. And actually, Death Penalty doesn’t end the crimes, it solidifies them and makes the “state” commit more crimes. 

Baby Egg Project: Reflection Questions

(SIN&GRACE)1. How did the whole experience teach you to live in holiness and discern our actions in the sinful and complex world we are living in today? It taught me these things by giving me something to look after and to care for. The baby egg gave me a sense of responsibility and a want to protect something.

(MORAL DECISION MAKING)2. As a mother, have you sought for Christ in deciding for the good of your baby egg? How? I didn’t really ask for Christ’s help that much. I didn’t exactly encounter very hard decision making problems throughout this project. Sure, I worried about Egguardo’s safety and I often thought about if I should bring him along with me to a certain place but it wasn’t up to that extent.

(FAMILY) 3. Cite and explain learnings this project taught you on the; A) Importance of parents in the development of a child. B) Importance of having loving and nurturing family for the child. A) This project taught me how hard it is to actually care for a child alone. Because of this I realized that a child needs someone who could take care of him/her and help him/her grow up to become a good person. B) A child needs a loving family that could help him/her in his/her development. The reason to do this is because that child would need guidance to know right from wrong and love to know how to love others.

(SEXUALITY) 4. How did this project nurture your sexuality as a woman? This project helped nurture my sexuality as a woman because it made me think over the phrase “sexuality is for love”. It helped me realize that love doesn’t mean “eros” but instead it means “agape”.

(CHASTITY) 5. Why is chastity always related to love? How did this project lead you to become a more loving person? Chastity is always related to love because being able to respect that person’s dignity and to be able to wait for that person is love. This project lead me to be a much more loving person because it provided me the experience of having someone to care for and look after. It made me feel somehow that I actually am a mother and it made me realize the real meaning of love.

(LIFE ISSUES) 6. We are called to respect and protect the dignity of life from womb to tomb, have you been true to this call in this project? How? Yes, I have been true to this call. Throughout the whole project I did my best to ensure the safety of my baby egg.

(LIFE ISSUES) 7. Imagine many years from now God will entrust to you a child, how will you nurture this beautiful gift of life? Cite 2 specific ways, explain each. I would nurture said beautiful gift of life by: 1. Making sure that she gets quality education. From a very young age my parents have instilled on to me the idea that education is the key to a good future and a good future is exactly what I would want for my child. Moreover, this also means that I would make sure that she knows how to tell right from wrong and good from bad. Basically, I want to raise her the way my parents raised me. 2. Making sure that she is always happy. By this, I don’t mean that I would spoil my future child it is more of I would always make sure that her emotional well-being comes first before anything. I’d do this because I don’t just want to be my child’s mother, I would want to be her confidant. I would want to be her friend too. I want to make sure that she knows that she’s loved and that there’s always someone who will be there for her.

Field Trip: IRRI