Posted on 03/31/2017 12:03:23 PM PDT by Kaslin
It's easy enough to be in favor of the death penalty for abstract reasons. There's revenge, for one, which goes under the alias of justice. There's obedience to the letter of the law rather than its spirit. There are at least as many reasons to favor the death penalty in legalistic debate as there are prisoners waiting to be lined up and killed, all of whom have names, families, friends and a grave waiting to receive their lifeless bodies once they're put to death:
--Don Davis and Bruce Earl Ward, whose executions have been set for April 17.
--Ledelle Lee and Stacey Johnson, who are due to meet their maker three days later.
--Marcell Williams and Jack Jones Jr., who now have till April 24 to live, at least according to the state's crowded schedule.
--Jason McGehee and Kenneth Williams, set for execution on the 27th of what the poet called the cruelest month, mixing memory and desire. Not to mention old-fashioned blood lust. Just as the earth returns to life, it is to receive their bodies as dust returns to dust.
What a cruel fate: to awaken each morning from troubled sleep, if the condemned can get any rest at all, to know that one's days are numbered -- not in the general sense but to exact time and place. Like sunrise on death row of the state's maximum-security wing at Varner, Ark., United States of America, in the sight of God, may He have mercy on their souls and on all of us in whose name this terrible deed is to be done.
Long ago and in a land far away in time and place, an ancient legal code decreed the death penalty for heinous crimes -- but only in the abstract. And any session of the court that dared carry it out would be assigned the damning name of Bloody Sanhedrin for all time. How little progress our so-called civilization has made since those ancient times, which might look quite enlightened when compared to ours.
Even finding witnesses to such a macabre sight has turned out to be a major challenge. The director of this state's department of correction and/or execution, Wendy Kelley, was reduced to appealing to a Rotary Club in Little Rock in her search for qualified witnesses: "You seem to be a group that does not have felony backgrounds and are over 21. So if you're interested in serving in that area, in this serious role, just call my office." And serious this role is -- deathly serious.
One volunteer for this role comes immediately to mischievous mind: the state's governor, the Hon. Asa Hutchinson, for his administration has put all those executions on the official calendar; wouldn't he like to be in attendance when his orders are executed, literally?
Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves doesn't seem to have a current account of any witnesses that have stepped forward, but he's beating the bushes for them. So hurry, hurry, hurry and sign up for the big show. No waiting! Immediate seating is available! If you've got the stomach for it.
It won't be easy to find volunteers for this grisly job, says Bill Booker, acting president of this Rotary Club. "What I suspect," he says, "is that some people might support the death penalty, but when it comes to witnessing something like that, it's a different story. It may cause emotional trauma for quite a while. It would be one of the most significant things you'll ever see in your life. ... At this point in my life, I don't know if I'd want to risk being traumatized by it. That doesn't mean that I oppose the death penalty." It's watching it being carried out that he'd like to avoid, though he's a funeral director by profession, on familiar terms with the angel of death. He recalls watching a young man die at the scene of a traffic accident years ago, and that was bad enough.
One member of this Rotary Club, one Charlotte Gadberry by name, says she has no interest in volunteering as a witness for the execution. "I can't imagine," she says, that Director Kelley "will get a lot of volunteers. I don't think I could handle it. I'm not real sure how I feel about the death penalty, but it seems like there should be a better way of treating our fellow man." There is. It's called life imprisonment without parole. Who knows, what with redemption being eternal, it may be a good thing for both the condemned and the conscience of the society that has condemned him.
I’ve watched people die before. It’s not that traumatic.
The 7 year-old was rather disturbing but we got to see the morgue so that made it better.
I am in favor of firing squads. Also Public Hangings in the Town Square where the crime occurred would be fine also.
The death penalty is the only one that guarantees that that person will not take another innocent life.
How many innocent people have died at the hands of someone who was once on DEATH ROW but managed somehow to not only escape execution, but got out only to kill again.
[[There’s obedience to the letter of the law rather than its spirit.]]
Yeah, it’s much more ‘legally spiritual’ to give violent criminals a slap on the wrist- allow them back out into society because of bleeding hearts, and allow them to murder and rape again!
Save the pity for someone more deserving ... like the victims.
Far from being hard to find voluteers, I can think of some executions that could sell lottery tickets, and pay the victims’ families for their loss.
If I knew the details of the offense that earned the condemned his one-way gurney ride, I don’t think I’d lose a lot of sleep seeing him sent to Judgment.
[[How many innocent people have died at the hands of someone who was once on DEATH ROW but managed somehow to not only escape execution, but got out only to kill again.]]
Noone knows because bleeding heart liberals hide those stats-
I am a retired Police Officer and have always been for the death penalty but if there were some way to do away with it and really work and punish those found guilty with a stipulation if they committed certain crimes while serving the sentence they would be executed I would be for it. Also have you where you could still punish a terrorist or multiple killings still by death.
Never happens. Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan, maybe. Had Sirhan Sirhan come by the next day and killed two waiters and a cook, he'd be a free man today.
Kill 'em.
I do not disagree but I have started to worry about innocent people dying or being executed.
Gotta love the way the author is so concerned about the cruel fate of the killer rather than the far crueler fate of the victims, who probably weren't offered a last meal and a visit with their relatives, sedated then painlessly put to a permanent sleep.
Correction:
there are prisoners waiting to be lined up and killed, all of whom have names, families, friends, a grave waiting and victims
Wonder why he left that part off?
Maybe we could also put them on pay per view to help defray the costs of the trials and incarceration.
From the child that was brutally raped and slashed,the woman who was stabbed and died a slow painful death and even after death was sexually assaulted. Good riddance.
The % is very small and not nearly enough to counter the positive results of executign the guilty who deserve it and who’s death ensures the safety of the public as a whole- While we don’t like innocent people going to the gas chamber- it’s more important that we send the guilty there to deter the rise in violent criminals if there were no death penalty- We are protecting the public by and large by having a death penalty, in the first place- by not only protection them against violent criminals who, serving life sente4cnes WILL likely get out at some point, and murde4r and rape again, but also by preventing would be violent criminals from stepping over the line because there would be no severe penalty
The Amount of innocent civilians SAVED by having a death penalty is so great that it would be unjust not to have a death penalty because it would be putting many many m ore peopel at risk of death by not having one
the small amount of innocent civilians executed wrongly is tragic, yes, but not nearly as tragic as the many that would be killed by potential criminals who decided to cross the line because the penalty for doing so was not death any longer-
Unfortunately it is a numbers game- It sucks for the few innocents who get executed wrongly, but it would suck way way more for innocent civilians who became victims of violent criminals who otherwise would not have become violent criminals had there been a penalty severe enough to dissuade them in the first place-
You have it think of the death penalty as a means to protecting the greatest amount of people possible, and come to grips with the fact that while innocent people mistakenly get executed, life really does not have guarantees IF a society is truly concerned with protection as many people as possible
Mistakes will be made, but in the end- the greater good is served-
re: “I do not disagree but I have started to worry about innocent people dying or being executed.”
Yes, I have no moral problem with capital punishment - as long as the truly guilty party is the one put to death.
There has been more than one instance of people with no money for a decent defense, and overly aggressive DA who simply want a conviction. How often that happens I don’t know, but our justice system seems so corrupt to me that I don’t trust that the “right” person has been convicted in all cases.
In the Old Testament, you had to have two or three eye witnesses to put someone to death. That’s a pretty high standard. I realize that DNA, and enough circumstantial evidence can convict and make a strong case, but sometimes, I wonder if that is a high enough standard.
Why a free civilian? Why not an in house career criminal up for parole? I’m sure they would appreciate some free time outside of the block and maybe even a nice dinner.......
Jack Jones needs to die.
I have the. best reason in the world for the death penalty...they won’t be able to kill anyone else
I am in favor of firing squads. Also Public Hangings in the Town Square where the crime occurred would be fine also.
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I’m in favor of capital punishment and any method of getting the job done is okay with me. Of course, for some criminals the more slow and painful the better.
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