Capital Punishment: the legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime.

*in this picture presents 1 of many methods of ‘Capital Punishment,’ this is by lethal injection, which is a dosage of high concentrated poison designated for the body’s internal choke points( heart, lungs, brain, etc).

1.Is Capital Punishment still valid here in Canada?

The Capital Punishment used to be valid, as crimes of murder, treason and rape since 1865 t’ill 1962, where Arthur Lucas and Robert Turpin were that last few to be publicly hanged in Toronto, Ontario. As time went on, in 1966 they loosened the rules and limited the Capital Punishment to the killing of on-duty police officers and prison guards. In the year of 1976, where the capital Punishment was officially ruled out of the Canadian Criminal Code. However, there have been many times this topic has been debated as in life without parole, or to reinstate the Capital Punishment.

2. If the short story ‘Two Fishermen’ took place in Canada, what timeline?

In the story Two Fishermen, consisted of Police officers, Hangmen, Newspapers, people who supply the daily paper, and importantly cars. As the last death penalty carried out was in 1962, the death of Thomas Delaney( death in the novel) must have been carried out in 1920-1960, around that time period since the fully functioning fueling automobile was during that time period.

3.Should Thomas have been killed for his actions?(killed the man who *censored* his wife)

No

In the book Two Fishermen, consists of a man who has been hung for the reasons to quarrel with morals and reason, but in its heat of the moment, he acted as any man would have, to protect one’s own called flesh and blood.

Starting off, he should not have been killed, but the in the logic of the law he should; this is where morals and reason debate. In the beginning is most radical action would to be killing the man who molested his wife, in this case he was fueled by the anger of what the man did but because he killed him out of anger, he was sentenced because in a sense, no matter how far someone’s rage is- no one should kill anyone, no one should be obligated to kill another man no matter the reason, not saying that he should be killed for killing the man who ruined his wife, but he did not deserve to die either. In modern day court, the execution of Jeff Ferguson in 2014 for the rape and murder of Kelli Hall, the Hall family’s father admitted that his family has come to deeply regret the man’s execution, for what happened had already happened and it won’t close any wounds, “believed the myth that Ferguson’s execution would close our emotional wounds.” as the man claimed. It’s similar in this case because, if they can have mercy for the attacker, they should have mercy for the one who defended their own.

             “Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury.”(Leviticus.24:19-21)-To this day one would still keep up with the ‘eye for an eye movement’ To the law, it would seem that Thomas Delaney has no right to kill the molester since he is not ‘the law’, because if people started bringing the law into their own hands, blood shed would be as prevalent as rain. But he kept the ‘eye for an eye movement’, the man deserved it and in a sense, he needed to avenge her honor. Mr. Delaney should not have been killed, but to be sent for life at worse, if one was to  follow what one were to be told, and to end up the ones to be punished for it would be hypocrisy at the highest corruption. People saying “To do the same is no better than what they are.” But not everyone has this subtle mercy, and it’s impossible to blame yet kill everyone who tries to defend their own they call flesh and blood. There was a vote of Capital Punishment: “Do you feel that executing people who commit murder deters others from committing murder, or do you think such executions do not have much effect?” (2/5-11/08) That the ‘Not much effect’ group had won, because for each murder lies a story, and it’s their reason alone. If the society only punished the people who had killed but not why, then it might as well be victim killing.

“There had been a struggle and Thomas Delaney had taken a bad beating before he had killed Rhinehart.” As self defense has been a more common counter-argument in court. It proves effect, the key word in the quote is “had taken a bad beating before he had killed Rhinehart.” This shows that there was struggle between the two, as well as the struggle between the perpetrator and the two, also stating that Mr. Delaney was the one who took the beating, not Mr. Rhinehart. Even so, knowing that this was not modern day, they still had a court where they had a chance to plea for their innocence, in this case- he did not get the chance. When pleading for a self defense case, it’s important to know if “Is the Threat Imminent?Was the Fear of Harm Reasonable?Imperfect or Perfect Self-Defense? Proportional Response?” In the case of Mr. Delaney, it checks out. Because it was clear that Mr. Rhinehart was the first to attack, it was his despair to lose the fight.

In conclusion, Mr. Delaney was robbed of his mercy, robbed of his wife, and in end-robbed of his life. Albeit his voice in the act was silenced, but his act in his decision was justified by morality and man’s logic. If mercy can be forgiven upon the enemy, the victim should be free, if killing the killer has no change in the limitations then why become the killer. Mr. Delaney was protecting his wife, as so returning the attack that Mr. Rhinehart has so forth given. One will, nor should not be restricted to protect their own life, or others. He died, hanging in the face of the public to only prove that his death was wronged.

Citations:

https://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/160/7-cap-pun.htm Capital Punishment introductory and past conflicts.

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-capital-punishment-in-canada-508141 As the history of Capital Punishment in Canada.

http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/self-defense-overview.html On what case do self-defense apply?

3rd Reason quote from the short story Two Fisherman.

Image by Wade Goodwyn http://www.npr.org/2015/01/06/375399560/botched-lethal-injection-executions-reignite-death-penalty-debate