I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal that was talking about the death penalty. This article triggered a few memories and thoughts so I had to ask the question: Do you believe the death penalty is serving Justice, or is it inhumane?

I have my opinion about the death penalty, or capital punishment to be formal. But I am not sure if my opinion is biased, or a real feeling.

I am the daughter of a man who once was one of the biggest drug dealers in Columbus. While I saw the kind, caring, loving person he was to his little girl, others saw a different man. I have heard stories about how he was and the things he used to do, but I am still not sure if I believe it all. He has been in prison for about 15 years now and I have yet to learn the complete details of why that is.

I was the definition of a ‘daddy’s girl’. I could not picture myself being without my father for one second. No matter what I did, I was never scolded. My father would do as I said at the drop of one tear. I would definitely say I was spoiled!

While my father was on trial and facing charges on God knows what (and I would rather not) I was very confused. I went from seeing my father on an everyday basis to not seeing him at all. Until one day I got a letter from him. I burst into tears when I finally got to see him in person. We wrote each other every week for 12 years.

When I hit about 16, I started to feel resentment towards my father. I blamed him for missing out on everything that was happening to me. I also started to wonder if I would have had the same issues if he had been around. This probably was not fair to him but I really did not care.

During the time I was feeling this way, I learned that my father could have received a death sentence. Hearing this made me begin to have mixed feelings.

1.) I should be cherishing every moment I have with him because he’s still alive.

2.) I felt guilty that I could still interact with my father somehow but the other family lost their loved one forever.

3.) Am I lucky that my father is alive? Or is he just as good as dead because he is not around?

The feeling of guilt made me believe I did not deserve to talk to my father at all. But I also did not think it was fair for me to be punished for something I did not do. This is where my dilemma comes up.

Is the death penalty justice, or is it inhumane? Is the death penalty really justice, or is it an eye for an eye? Is our whole justice system an eye for an eye? And if so, is that really justice? What exactly is justice?

Maybe the victim has justice because my father will more than likely die in prison. Maybe the victim is receiving justice because a daddy’s girl was stripped of her father and he never saw her get her license, graduate high school, or go on her first date. He will never see her graduate college, get married, have children, or have a career. My father never got to watch me grow up into the woman I have become. Is that not justice?

If it is justice, then it is well served. But if that is still not enough, then I do not know what else to say.

Maybe I am bias because I can only empathize with the feeling. And I do not know, nor do I want to know, what it feels like.

So I ask you all: do you believe capital punishment is justice or inhumane? I am curious to know what some of your opinions are and your reasoning behind it.