Having been in the same position as Jeanne, I feel very sorry for her, and can assure her that this is not the end of that long and painful journey. I hope she can move beyond the revenge she apparently feels to forgiveness. I've been there and I know that the journey's end is forgiveness, not revenge.
It's so easy to think that the murderer's execution will make you feel better. If it does, it's only for a little while. The pain of your loss never goes away just because the murderer is also dead.
While I still support the death penalty, revenge must have no part in it. It is a matter of justice.
I find these kinds of discussions on FR to be distasteful. They invariably bring out the worst reactions in people. It's common for people to say they would enjoy watching the murderer suffer a most painful death. The more painful, the better, they say. That's a horrible thing to say. The murderer is a child of God. He is someone God loves dearly. And if he goes to hell for dying unrepentant, God takes no delight in that, and neither should we. Could you actually tell God to his face that you want one of his children, someone he loves enough to die for, to suffer a horribly painful death?! While the execution may be necessary for justice's sake and for the protection of society, prison guards, and even other inmates, it is nothing to take pleasure in. It is just another chapter in the whole tragic situation.
Go ahead and flame me. Until youve experienced what Jeanne Brown has experienced, execution and all, and been on that journey to its end, you cannot comprehend. I will not be responding on this thread anymore. I've said my piece and have nothing more to add.
Never mind......
If their concern is rapidity of death, I suggest we return to hanging or firing squad. The constitutional requirement to avoid “cruel and unusual” punishment does not mean a complete lack of discomfort on the part of the malefactor. If our judicial system has found an individual to have so egregiously violated the norms of our society that he must be removed from the possibility of future violations we mshould just get it done as expeditiously as possible.
In certain cases, however I think a public feeding into a woodchipper would have a salutary effect on those who evince contempt for our societal norms.