Death Penalty in Texas

 In the editorial about the Death Penalty in Texas, Asad talks about the unjust criminal justice system that sentences people the death penalty without the option of reversing the order. The death penalty has surely been a main factor in the amounts of deaths in the United States and in Texas over the decades. Our criminal justice system has no basis for deciding whether an individual deserves or does not deserve to live.

Here is my comment on Asad's blog:

I completely agree with you about how the death penalty is promoting killing as an OK solution to many criminal cases nowadays. Individuals who commit crimes should always be penalized for their actions by going to prison or be locked up for the rest of their lives but giving them the death penalty is too harsh. We all make mistakes, some worse than others, but justice will eventually be served if it is meant to be. We are all only human so it’s not really up to us to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. The U.S and Texas criminal justice system needs to be adjusted to at least lower the number of death penalties first before actually eliminating the whole thing. The job of the criminal justice system should only be to serve justice by finding the guilty people and putting them away, not killing them all. Leaving the person locked up in prison for the rest of their life will surely give them plenty of time to reflect on their actions and live with them for the rest of their life. Since executions cost more than life in prison, both Texas and the U.S could really save a lot of money.

Overall, this was a very informative editorial about the death penalty costs and crime rates. I do have a few suggestions on improving the editorial by providing more statistical facts about the number of death executions in the United States, as well as the number in Texas. Along with the statistics, you can improve the editorial even more if you give suggestions about the alternatives there is to the death penalties and life sentences. Even though I believe that we shouldn’t give criminals the death sentence, I do believe that after a person commits a serious crime like murder and homicide, they should be locked up for a very long time. The more serious the case, the longer they have to remain in prison. Letting criminals go back to live a normal life after committing a serious crime puts the public in risk and endangers the innocent people from being harmed. Because there are innocent people who are sent away, the criminal justice system should really take its time and focus on the case before sentencing people into prison. Justice might not be served right away but I believe that it will eventually come back and help the people who are innocent.

Texas State and Local Government – Budget Cuts

Every two years, Texas sets a budget for the spending of the state in the upcoming two years. With the economic recession taking over the United States, Texas is starting to feel the pressure to maintain a balanced amount of revenue and spendings so that the state will not go into further debt. With a generalized budget cut for the whole state, areas such as the health and human services portion, the business portion, and the public and higher education portion. 

One of the main concerns for the public and higher education budget cut is that teachers are losing their jobs, schools are closing down, and students might not be able to receive the education necessary in order to succeed. I think the budget cut for the public and higher education is outrageous because we are practically preventing any form of innovations and improvements for the future. As time passes by, the older generation will slowly move aside for the newer generation to take over. Because the amount of success a person has is based on the amount of education they receive, it is relevant to invest more into it than pull away from it. 

Even though the United States is facing an economic recession right now, we still need to focus on what is more important to our future. Even if the public and higher education budget is cut, it should not be cut by a substantial $7 billion dollars. The budget cut focuses mainly in the state of Texas but this budget cut can set a trend for the future. If we don’t make the change now, it might be too late to change in the future. The future generation deserves a better education because they will eventually take over and shape the world with their own influences.