Capital Punishment within the short story, “The Two Fishermen”

Capital punishment is the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime. This was used for anyone who committed murder, rape, and treason. Canada used to have capital punishment for a while, up until 1976, where it was removed from the Canadian Criminal Code. The death penalty was life imprisonment, along with no chance of parole for 25 years for first-degree murders. Capital punishment remained within the Canadian National Defence Act, only for the most serious military offences until 1998.

If this story took place in Canada, the crime would have been committed between 1865-1961. This was the time when crimes of murder, rape, and treason all carried the death penalty. Then the events that happened in the story would be allowed to take place in Canada, and Thomas Delaney would be handed capital punishment for murdering the man molesting his wife.

Thomas Delaney should not have been hanged. Capital punishment was not appropriate for the crime he committed. He may have killed someone, but it was a) in the heat of the moment, b) to protect his wife, and c) the crime was really voluntary manslaughter, not murder. There was a fight between the two men, that was started by Matthew Rinehart  This resulted in one of them dying. This for sure warrants jail time, along with recuperating with therapy sessions or something. Either way, death was not the proper punishment for the crime he committed.

Sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-capital-punishment-in-canada-508141

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/g/gallows.asp

 

 

The household turned restaurant is small, but never felt cramped. Tables are spaced out nicely, while still making the most out of the space. There’s chatter amongst the tables, but it never overpowers your ears. Flags hang from the kitchen doors and around the restaurant, showing their nationality proudly. The walls are adorned, no, completely covered with pictures that Rosa has taken with many noteworthy people over the course of her life. They’re all signed by their respective celebrity, too. Michael Bublé, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Hull, and many others. The only one that makes you a little uncomfortable is a picture of Ron Jeremy by the washroom doors with his, erhm, devilish smile. At least the picture was taken during his better years.

You and your friends sit down at a table, half of you sitting in booth seats, the others in chairs opposite of you. You feel comfortable in the leather seats that span the whole side of the restaurant wall. You order your food, and then are greeted by warm bread and butter while the main course is being prepared. Picking up the bread, you notice it is warm to the touch, but not burning your palm. Spreading butter on the bread, it melts perfectly on top. The bread warms your mouth. A crispy crust, but a fluffy inside. Perfect.

Finally, your dish arrives, catered to you by the waitress. The dish hasn’t even met your eyes, yet you can see the steam floating into the air from it. And it lands in front of you. Spaghetti covered with tomato sauce. Parmesan cheese splashed on top of the tomatoes, with some basil leaves on top to give it a splash of colour. A single, warm slice of garlic bread is set to the side of the dish. You smell the tomato sauce filling your nose with warmth. The scent of the garlic bread mixes with the rest of the dish nicely. The whole thing is such a pleasure to look at, you can hardly bring yourself to eat it! But you haven’t eaten anything since your 6-inch Subway sandwich for lunch, so you’re kinda hungry. You grab your fork and spoon, the required equipment for enjoying such a fine culinary creation. You wrap the spaghetti around your fork, raise it to your mouth, and bite.

The spaghetti itself; not too hard, but not practically made of mush. The perfect density. The tomato sauce and parmesan cheese compliment each other wonderfully. The tomato sauce brings your taste buds to a fiery awakening, while the parmesan cheese almost cools your mouth down and brings a second taste. The whole meal, instantly enjoyable, makes you feel like you’re in a restaurant in Italy. While your meal makes your wallet much lighter, your stomach and brain are only getting fuller. Full of enjoyable food and memories with your friends.