At 06:51 PM 5/26/01 +0200 J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>>The United Nations apparently does not think so:
>> http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
>
>This URL links to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I read through
>it, but I can't seem to find the part where it says that executing
>prisoners is a human right. I did find something else in the Declaration,
>though:
>
>Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
>
>Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
>degrading treatment or punishment.
>
>Statement by Amnesty International:
>"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
>It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on
>the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than
>other punishments."
>
>4. Amnesty International has no idea what they are talking about. (not
likely)
We have a winner! The answer is #4.
Article 3 was lifted almost directly from the US Declaration of
Independence. (Which was in turn lifted from a philosopher - I think it
was Locke.)
Article 4 comes almost directly from the US Bill of Rights.
Given that the US Constitution also explicitly mentions the death penalty
as being an appropriate punishment - it is inconceivable that death was
concerned a cruel punishment by the authors.
Amnesty is simply twisting someone else's words to fit their own political
agenda on this issue.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of institutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
