The Execution was a video that regarded the issue of the death penalty. It followed a man named Clifford Boggess, a man who grew up in St. Joe, Texas, and committed two murders. He told his stories is they were, and he didn't seem to make up any details that would make him seem more inocent. This was something that I would consider to be a mitigating factor. I say this, because he was able to admit what he had done. Some could argue that based on the video he was almost proud of what he had done, but he had admitted that he regrets murdering both of those old men.
One thing that we should consider in a case like this was why he committed the murders. A lot of stories that I hear on the news involve shootings where a kid get shot to death on accident, or a man would murder his ex-girlfriend for revenge of some sort. Boggess murdered for different reason; It was to get money, and out of anger.
This seems like a silly reason to want to murder someone, and even Boggess started to realize the rediculousness of his story. The two murders were committed withinn two weeks of each other, but he stabbed each old man to death, rather than just shooting a bullet or two. He also felt no emotion, or tried not to during and after the two murders, and threatened his girlfriend if she had told someone about any of the two murders. These factors can easily be held against him, and would cause the relatives of the deceased men angry and upset enough to want Boggess dead.
With that in mind, Boggess seemed to make durastic changes in his life in death row. He started to become an artist, and decided to believe in his faith for forgiveness by God. This brings up an interesting point of whether a person can change or not. Maybe Boggess did change, but he may say that he would never murder again, but it could be all lies if he loses his faith and commitment to his religion. Whether people can change or not, they can become more or less religious at any time in their lives.
Clifford Boggess also made pen pals from all over the country and part of Europe to help him sell his art paintings and sketches. His art reflected feelings that he had about what he had done, and his hope to live as long as he could on death row. However, his ability to paint seemed to give him something to do while he was waiting for his execution date, which he knew would come eventually. He would have been happier to stay in prison for life, but he did his best dealing with his anticipated execuation date.
He seemed to value his faith more than anything, even though he loved to paint. When the families were interviewed that were not satisfied with what had happened to their mudered relatives, but it seemed that even his death didn't bring them peace either, because the locations of the committed murders where there to haunt them. The places where each old man died are still in existance, and that is what keeps each of the families and relatives from being satisfied by anything or anyone. Boggess thought that writing apology letters to each of the families would help them feel better, but both families disliked the idea that a murderer would be preaching to them. He did not expect forgiveness until he would be dead.
In addition his apology, his aspect on life, although changed through his religion allowed him to reflect on the muders that he committed, and his delayed execution gave him enough time to ask God for forgivness, or so he thought. This is where the question of whether he should have been executed comes into play. It didn't really bring anyone to justice, and no one forgave him after his execution, so why was he killed? Would it really have been a deterrent for other people not to murder?
To answer both of these questions, the only deterrent that was formed from Clifford Boggess's execution was for himself. He would not be able to murder anyone ever again, whether he actually changed or not, because he can't murder anyone if he's dead. It would have been better for him, and other's like him to be executed as soon as possible, so that he wouldn't have time to religiously be forgiven, and forgive himself. While we are all human, and make mistakes, commiting two or more murders marks the point of murdering not being any mistake at all, and while Boggess may have been a good guy before the murders, and during his time on death row, his second murder was no mistake, and action was taken upon him to bring no one to justice. He was too dagerous to let out of prison, but prison for life may have been better for a man who would be willing to admit what he had done.
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