Many students believe that Penn State is isolated from the so-called "real world," the mythical place where many of the major issues of our present day are played out.

Nothing happens here in cow country except Penn State football games and nights of drinking that end belly down in the gutter.

But just down the road there is an empty execution chamber where Pennsylvania may put to death only the fourth person since the state reinstituted capital punishment in 1976.

If anyone deserves to die for heinous crimes against other human beings, it should be George Banks, who was convicted of killing 13 people during a murder spree more than two decades ago -- a rampage that included him killing many of his own children.

But the question still remains: Should the death penalty be used to punish people in our society or does life in prison fulfill the same purpose?

Many people feel passionate about the issue, and their individual experiences affect whether they think the death penalty is just or not.

Many know that facts and impassioned opinions mount up on both the pro and the con sides of the argument.

But few know that it all comes to a head in University Park's backyard.

The death penalty carries a buzzword connotation in our society -- much like abortion, gun control, affirmative action and welfare invoke strong responses at just their utterance.

But like these other issues, the argument often lies in the abstract, in the disconnected, academic realm in which the reality of situations gets lost in generalizations used to simplify complication.

And having the case play out 15 minutes from University Park makes Banks' case brings it to the forefront of our minds. The courts recently halted his execution that was originally scheduled for today until Luzerne County officials can reevaluate Banks' sanity.

At the same time, he is convicted of killing 13 people. According to the jury, he did it. Regardless of the reason, more than a dozen productive members of society are gone, and they are not coming back.

When current debate across the country focuses on this particular facet of the issue, the real case study is being played out. Read about it. It is complicated to say the least; there is no easy answer.

The person to be put to death, the victims and their families and friends all have faces.

Out of the ugliness, it is a chance to see the political transformed into the all-too-real.