Abortion:Murder. Death Penalty:Justice.

The death penalty is utilized to decrease the populations of prisons and to rid society of the worst offenders, today (though it has existed for thousands of years). This sentence is never taken lightly and is only administered justifiably... say supporters. People even remotely against the practice, though, oftentimes believe that this punishment is anything but fair and justified.

The picture found here, http://theblacksentinel.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/death-penalty-becomes-the-new-lynching/, illustrates the idea that the decision between the death penalty and a life sentence (black and white, opposites) is based solely on race (black or white). In the article containing this illustration, it is mentioned that through studies it has been found that the number of inmates on death row coincides with the number of lynchings in olden times, "proof" of the claim (if inspected carefully, the scale in the middle of Blind Justice and Grim Reaper leads the viewers' eyes upward, to the shoulders, where there are ruffles in the garment(s): a possible invisible, implied noose). The title of this image is "And Justice For All," but in the bottom right (Death's side) corner, there is a character proclaiming "Injustice for all..." that are sentenced to Death; because of the Reaper's preparedness to harvest while Justice allows the "Whites" to live, with her sword at her side. Ethnicity is not the only area in which opponents of the death penalty believe there to be bias, though.

The representation of a scale balancing nooses, as found at http://ucsbglobalvoices.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/episode-10-day-of-debate/, (the second picture down the page), further illustrates the concept that capital punishment is "unfair." One noose is heavier than the other, though there are less victims on the heavy side than people on the light. The left, heavy side is also darker than the right, light, lighter side, proving that the decision of a "jury" to put a person to death obliterates any hope the convicted held on to. The use of color and the depiction of the victims (none fleeing or panicking, plainly) evokes the feeling in viewers that perhaps the whole situation surrounding the executions is a sacrifice of some sort (if this is the case, the "peasants" would not view the action as executions but the fact that the victims are being sent to death equates to death sentences, the whole point of this "journal"). The scene is too broad for any further comments on the population to be made; no bias can be said to exist among them, though, if anything, the ones on the right must have acted as the jury condemning the ones on the left, outweighing the victims' (possible) objections.

Sometimes, no bias may exist at all; the whole reason for the execution is to provide a show for supporters of the "method of punishment." The image at http://www.drakecentral.info/cuba/cubainthenews/cubanews-2008.html, (about three-fourths of the length down the page, to the left of the bold "April 29") depicts an executioner questioning, who is assumed to be, the "marshal" of the village, about the prominent trend in executing at the time. The victim, of course, looks terrified, but the bulging of his eyes suggests mental cries of "What?! I'm about to die and you're only worried about pleasing the onlookers?!" The viewers stand in the background, looking anticipative and curious, completely unfazed that a man is about to die (quite the contrary).

Due to images such as the one shown in https://sloone.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/are-we-sure-there-are-no-secret-executions-in-malaysia/ (portraying an annoyed California informing the anesthesiologist that the nervous wreck of an Opposition is the one in need of the anesthetic, not the criminal, who lies on his death bed terrified and waiting), advocates and enemies of the death penalty are the most dedicated, respectfully. The juries that now send convicts to death may soon be voting on whether or not to completely abolish the practice. I do not support the possibility, but I do not completely savor the idea that my fellows' lives may be in the hands of some who are not capable of judging correctly and justly.