10-01-2004, 11:31
The Ontario Northlands Decides:
Death Penalty on Agenda
The Issue
Following a tragic double-murder, capital punishment has surged as an election issue. There now appears a real possibility that right-wing candidate Jean-Paul Christmas, running on a "Do the Crime, pay the Penalty" platform, will gain power. While society's intelligentsia is outraged, debate rages as to whether the government should intervene.
The Debate
"This is a democracy, remember?" rhetorically questions Professor Roxanne Jefferson of the University of Greater The Ontario Northlands. "That means that if the people want something, the people get it. I hate to say it, but in the name of political freedom, we need to accept that our country will have the death penalty."
[Accept]
"I'm sorry," says Civil Rights Unionist Jazz Thiesen, "but this travesty cannot be allowed to pass. If the government needs to crack down on lunatic fringe groups in order to keep our great nation free of the death penalty, then so be it. We must ban the politics of hatred and fear!"
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has yet to formalize a position on this issue.
Death Penalty on Agenda
The Issue
Following a tragic double-murder, capital punishment has surged as an election issue. There now appears a real possibility that right-wing candidate Jean-Paul Christmas, running on a "Do the Crime, pay the Penalty" platform, will gain power. While society's intelligentsia is outraged, debate rages as to whether the government should intervene.
The Debate
"This is a democracy, remember?" rhetorically questions Professor Roxanne Jefferson of the University of Greater The Ontario Northlands. "That means that if the people want something, the people get it. I hate to say it, but in the name of political freedom, we need to accept that our country will have the death penalty."
[Accept]
"I'm sorry," says Civil Rights Unionist Jazz Thiesen, "but this travesty cannot be allowed to pass. If the government needs to crack down on lunatic fringe groups in order to keep our great nation free of the death penalty, then so be it. We must ban the politics of hatred and fear!"
[Accept]
The Government Position
The government has yet to formalize a position on this issue.