Tag: Capital Punishment

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Execution is a solemn occasion. We, and I use the word we here because the state is acting on our behalf, only carry out this sentence for the most extreme crimes after a jury of 12 people review the facts in the case. It is a grave matter to decide that taking a man’s life is a just sentence. When all is said and done a human being is dying. It is sad if only that the murderer found himself making profoundly stupid decisions that he could have easily avoided.

The glee with which Pete Hegseth takes in executing a man is disturbing. It certainly isn’t solemn, it is more like won’t it be cool to kill a man on live television. Maybe he could wear a white shirt so we can see where the bullets He is behaving like a 12 year old with a brand new BB gun who wants to kill, well, anything. He clearly misunderstands the gravity of taking a man’s life.

Holding public office requires an understanding of polite behavior. He may think it is all fun and games in private. That is his business. In public, however, he is a cabinet secretary of the U.S. government. He serves the people of this country and a certain amount of decorum is required to serve in this position. Either he is so arrogant to not care about how a cabinet secretary should behave when faced with such a situation or he is incredibly stupid.

I wish I could say he was just an asshole but I am inclined to believe he is really a stupid asshole although I am debating which puts us in a worse position. Malicious or clueless. Neither one is particularly helpful at this time.

Sometimes when I think the fate of the world is in the hands of people of such character as Trump and Hegseth my mind boggles.  This is one of those occasions.  

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I am against capital punishment because I distrust the present judicial system. People are wrong. Systems and processes fail. You can release a person who is wrongfully imprisoned, you can’t revive the dead. I am particularly wary of convicting anyone just on circumstantial evidence. I also realize I am in the minority in the United States and capital punishment is something I have to live with.

I thought I had made my peace with the process but Christa Pike’s botched execution in Tennessee has caused me to reconsider the practice. If the state is going to execute someone, the state should, at least, be able to ensure that it is done right. Particularly worrisome is the number of botched lethal injection executions. By my count, there have been 17 lethal injection executions that have gone wrong since 2000.

And, before someone writes, at least she was treated better than her victim. That is not the point. An execution is a state sponsored action. The state owes it to its citizens to conduct itself in a humane manner. Not because the person deserves such treatment, but because this sentence is being carried out for all of us. We don’t want to engage in torture and mistreatment of any individual.

If we can’t do it right, we shouldn’t be doing it at all.

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Missouri executed Marcellus Williams despite there being evidence that he was innocent. The family of the murdered woman asked that his sentence be commuted to life in prison so there was no pressure from them for execution. The county prosecutor found issues with his case and wanted further investigation. Missouri still went ahead because Williams was found guilty by a jury of his peers.

As if a jury sentence can’t be wrong when we know that human institutions are wrong all of the time. When the sentence is death, then the state should be confident that the verdict was correct. Any information that creates doubt regarding the verdict ineeds to be investigated to ensure that execution is merited.

This is why I am not a fan of capital punishment. A wrong verdict that takes away 20 years or so of a person’s life is bad enough but if the state discovers they were wrong, then the person, at least, has his life. Death can not be undone. Missouri seemed more concerned about carrying out the sentence than ensuring that the verdict was correct.