“Therefore if any man is dangerous to the community and is subverting it by some sin, the treatment to be commended is his execution in order to preserve the common good. Therefore to kill a man who retains his natural worthiness is intrinsically evil, although it may be justifiable to kill a sinner just as it is to kill a beast, for, as Aristotle points out, an evil man is worse than a beast and more harmful.” –Saint Thomas Aquinas Killing by all accounts is an evil thing but, for the worst of the worst in society it is a necessary evil. In the early morning of June 12, 2016, a lone gunman walked into a gay night club in Orlando Florida. Here is a section of an eye witness account that appeared on The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelly the following night.
“Um, happy faces everyone was having a good time and then it was like mayhem. The next thing you know I just hear… Bang Pop Pop Pop. My friend was shot twice in the back, once in the leg, and once in the hand. Last time I checked he was still in surgery but that was just one guy.” -Sean Broister recalling the events of the Orlando shooting (CBS
…show more content…
In 1972 William Furman dropped his gun in the midst of a robbery. The gun discharged and killed the owner of the house. He was sentenced to be executed by Georgia law. He appealed the law, arguing that the nature of sentencing capital punishment lacked a solid definition and varied from state to state. The Supreme Court agreed with him in a five to four ruling and put a halt to all capital punishment until 1976 when Gregg v. Georgia was decided.
Gregg v. Georgia set rules for when the Death penalty could be issued. It can be issued, if the murder is committed while the offender was engaged in two other capital felonies, if the murder was committed for the purpose of gaining money, or if the murder was outrageously and wantonly