I don't believe in the Death Penalty. I know that the Death Penalty is ethically correct, and that the State has the right to demand the life of a person, after due process. I don't believe in the Death Penalty as an advocate of efficient government. It is far cheaper to house a convict for forty, fifty or sixty years, rather than to pay for the appeal process following a conviction for murder.
Troy Davis was executed tonight.
He killed a cop.
Again, I have no problem with the ethics that find that an enemy of the state, who has behaved against the state, in this case, killing a police officer, being killed by that state. States should always be aware of those who would commit crimes against it, and be prepared to defend the state against those who would attack it, or attack its members.
Why don't we have these executions on television?
This is not an inquiry from some kind of Caligula freak. My motive here is not to simply display the horrid, freakish nature of an execution. My point is more politically incorrect than that; it is to suggest that we televise abortions.
Death is horrible, and it stalks each of us. It is the essence of fear. Death.
I'm watching MSNBC writhe under the effects of the execution of Troy Davis, cop killer. The first step in Troy Davis' execution was putting him to sleep. Lack of consciousness. Then, when lack of consciousness was established, the lethal drugs were administered. I don't want to watch it. But, I think that if we, us, you and I were able to watch the execution of a convicted enemy of the state, we would be less likely to ask for that punishment.
But, in order to show executions, I think we must show abortions. According to Answers.com, there are thirty-seven hundred each day. In the U.S. alone. 115,000 in the World.
What crime did those 115,000 children commit?
No cops were killed. No synagogues were blown up. No drunks crashed into a car-full of innocent travelers.
Still, it's easier to kill the unborn, without regard to their future.
There is one fair player in all of this, the Catholic Church. While the Church may not always have the logical consistency one would hope and pray for, the sanctity of life is one of the essential beliefs in an ordered society that would be embodied within a constitution, or lex supra legis, that would protect those who hadn't adequate resources to defend themselves. Ordering the defense of those who lack the ability to defend themselves is one of the cornerstones of a functioning society. Putting the defense of those who are enemies of the state against the unborn seems to me, to be at least objectionable. (One of the reasons why we adopted a Constitutional Republic was the recognition, some 200 years ago, that defense of ones liberty wasn't always consistent with the changing winds of public opinion. We seem to have lost that interpretation, haven't we?)
Is the Death Penalty "un-Constitutional?"
No. Just as wars against our enemies aren't "un-Constitutional." What faddle. Our enemies are our enemies. Must we need kill everyone who is our enemy? No. There are Prisoner of War camps for our enemies. Hopefully, better equipped than Andersonville. Must we have "humane" camps for our enemies? No. Our enemies, from the simple act of being our enemies, requite themselves to that eventuality that we may execute them at our leisure. It seems absurd to me that anyone could argue against this exposition, and at the same time, advocate for the death of a fetus. Godwin's Law forbids me to draw equivalency.
You and I, we have no idea about God's plan for us. I will assert that Andersonville was an example of a certain lack of compassion. American compassion for Americans. I'm not totally sold that we took better care, at the time, as the Northern Invaders. What I will tell you is, my friend, Heinz Pfaeffle, who was saved by his mentor, Erwin Rommel in Nazi Germany, that when he was interned by American forces, he was pleased, and graced, by the Americans. Simply take a look at the care we give those interned at Guantanamo. If you were an international terrorist, what would you want?
I am not outraged by the execution of Troy Davis. I am consoled. I believe that our young need to be alarmed by the reality of our world. You cannot kill, without remonstrance. I just wish we had a strongly held belief in the innocence of life, that would gain as much air-time, as will the execution of Troy Davis.
Imagine, the public television of each abortion. 154 per hour. More than two per minute.
Busy T.V. schedule, no?
2 comments:
Perhaps that's why the DVR exists.
America, after all, loves "reality tv".
Excellent analogy.
Execution is a sign of failure - despite its long history. I'll skip the long argument about why it's a failure.
I would rather it not be needed, but as one of the Old Greek Guys said, there are men who are human in shape only. We would kill a wild beast who attacked us.
Whenever someone is adamantly opposed to the death penalty, I would advise him to look at the websites that describe his crimes. It's not for the faint of heart.
It's certainly not a deterrent; what it does is ensure that he doesn't do it again.
"... rather than to pay for the appeal process following a conviction for murder."
That's part of the problem. There are "open and shut" cases, where the evidence is incontrovertible, and the defendant admits guilt, where appeals should be made only to insure that the legal process has been followed. There's no reason that should take more than a year. We are, after all, guaranteed a "speedy trial".
Anything else is difficult. (A long time ago, I suggested this remedy: after the trial, there are 10 glasses. If the jury finds that there's a 30% chance the defendant is guilty, 3 of those glasses will contain poison. After the verdict, the defendant must choose and drink one of them (sorta like Socrates). If he refuses, he has to drink them all.)
Heck, even imprisonment isn't a deterrent - else we would have far fewer inmates, rather than the more we do have.
Thanks for the Remonstrance link.
In related news, there's a radio report that in Texas, the tradition of the "last meal" is being ended. The latest recipient of the executioner's art designed such an extravagant and lengthy meal that a Texas congressman was so incensed that he ordered the practice stopped.
There's always one rotten egg that will spoil the barrel.
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