In one of my articles, I blasted the victims that said they wanted to watch Timothy McVeigh die. While I still agree with what I said, I failed to take into account one aspect. What if I was the family member of one of the victims? That’s the point most of us forget about. We can argue the death penalty one way or the other with emotional detachment because we’re not involved.

To those that are against the death penalty, think of it this way:

What if one night I’m coming home from work late, and I see the back door of my house has been kicked in. I quickly run in my house and up the stairs, and I see a guy ready to kill my wife and son. I run into my office, grab my gun, and I come out shooting. Who would argue that I did something wrong? I defended my wife and 6 month old son. The law calls it a justified shooting. But what if I tackled the guy and held him down till the police came? People against the death penalty would argue it is wrong for him to be put on death row? I ask, what’s the difference — the time in which he is killed? It’s ok to shoot him in my house during the act, but not ok to for the state to kill him after he’s caught?

Each time I think I have decided on this issue, I hear something or think of something that changes makes me question again. While I still believe what I wrote in my article — I don’t think the death penalty equates closure for family members of the victims — I realize one thing. If it were my son in that day care in the federal building, I’d want to be there to see that guy take his last breath.