evolution

while we’re all waiting (with bated breath, i’m sure) to see how my master’s oral exams will turn out, let’s talk about the death penalty. i wrote some time ago that the death penalty ought to be abolished (original) . if it cannot be applied fairly - and evidence exists that it has not - then the ultimate sanction should not be applied at all.

having said that, here are two men that the state of utah plans to execute by firing squad (condemned are allowed a choice between this or lethal injection) on june 27. they are roberto arguelles, a serial killer and rapist who counted among his victims girls of 13, 15, and 16; and troy kell, who was caught on a prison videotape (while serving time for a previous murder) stabbing a black inmate 67 times with a shiv while screaming “white power!”

personally, i am not going to miss them one bit. they are ideal candidates for my “prison work program” - manual labor, 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, year-round, with no possibility of release, parole, cable tv, weight machines, porno magazines, college credit, or any other such rubbish - but i am not going to protest or cry when the state of utah shoots them dead.

i’m not proposing that we work to exhaustion everyone who is convicted of even a serious crime - even notorious individuals can become good seeds and contribute to the community. however, there can be no other use for unredeemable villains such as these .

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2003 at 19:46 and is filed under politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.