[congressman]

For me, no, we can't afford it. But its not because of financial burden. Its because the price of putting to death someone who is innocent, far outweighs any number of 0's you can put on a pricetag. I'm completely and 100% against the death penalty, not because of the moral issue, because I honestly believe those who commit murder should die, but putting all murderers in the world to death at the cost of just 1 innocent man pleading from his bed not to be murdered himself, is far to great for me. On this issue and that of abortion, I tend to follow a simple rule.. Error on the side of caution. If you can not be absolutely certain that someone is actually guilty of the murder, then why take a chance? Abortion follows the same logic. Science can not prove definitively if an unborn child is actually a 'life'... so therefor if you error on the side of caution, you will absolutely NOT have anything to worry about when you stand before your maker. While those who choose to abort a fetus, face a 50/50% chance of being wrong.. and thus, possibly commit murder.

Now, let me switch gears and please have your attention.. this is important to me. So I decided to do it this way, seperating it from the above explanation. The following is personal opinion, and different than most posts on here. I'm not debating, nor spouting facts and figures. And DEFINATELY not using talking points. This is from the heart:

I understand the sensitive subject at hand.. and I definately understand the passion that many people have on both issues. So I'm goin to do something that few people ever do on here. I'm going to beg each and every one of you to take a long long look at the issue, even if you've poured over it for hours, days, or even years.. Look a little deeper inside yourself, and even deeper into what you truly believe. And please, try to find it in you to reject the death penalty. If you do this for me, and still believe that the death penalty is the answer, you have my word that I'll not try to change your mind again. But this is a matter that is near and dear to my heart.. and I greatly appreciate those who had an honest and open discussion with their heart, and their God.