Difference in Opinions

So, today we had a conversation about the very controversial topic of the death penalty. While some were against it, some of us had mixed feelings about the subject. As always, I love how we can have conversations like this in our intensive, and not be afraid to share our opinions. Everyone made good points, and I feel like I can say what I want in this group, and not be judged for what I'm saying, which is overall the vibe that I get from the Hawken community. Today at dinner I mentioned that we talked about that topic in class since it is brought up in the show, and my twin brother who is very opinionated and open about equality for all, said "They should have gotten the death penalty". This is just one of the many opinions that were most likely spreading like wildfire when this whole case was happening.
On that note, one of the most touching speeches, in my opinion, in this show is the speech that Matthew Shepard's father gives when he grants Aaron and Russell life. He says that instead of having them die for what they did to his son, he wanted to show mercy on them and let them live so that every day that they lived, they would remember that Matthew is not alive, and remember what they had done to him every day of their lives that they were granted to live.  I completely agree with this because he wants Aaron and Russell to feel remorse for what they did to his son. This opinion goes completely against what my brother thinks so this shows how controversial this topic is, applying to this case and the other cases out there.