Death penalty

Loretta Broker,

Jefferson City

Dear Editor,

I was watching an old western movie where good old Judge Dale Robertson was doing his best to stop all the killings which occurred daily all over the West by pointing out that a gunslinger kills someone and then the town hangs the gunslinger, which just perpetuates the killing.

Unfortunately, our world today is no different.

Guns are everywhere, killings happen daily, and the United States still kills the killer, just like in the Wild West. Our governor was a sheriff and perhaps that's why he can only see this path.

Facts have proven the death penalty does not deter future violence. The alternative is life imprisonment without parole for heinous crimes. This should be the civilized method used in our courts today.

In some cases, a single judge is allowed to hand down the death penalty. This is not the Christian way of dealing with our fellow humans, who are loved equally by our Lord, who said, "I desire mercy, not vengeance."