IS A SPECTACLE OF MURDER TO BE OUR VERSION OF ENTERTAINMENT?
Not That Long Ago . . . Public Executions Were All The Rage, and I am Not Writing About the Roman Empire Era, since we Don’t Have to Look Further Afield than the Guillotine, Where French Citizens Gathered To Cheer-On The Murder Of The Aristocracy.
Even In America . . . Public Lynchings – Not that Long Ago Attracted Blood Thirsty Admirers . . . How Does That Make Us A Civilized People?
People in Many Moslem Nations were Stoned To Death for things Like Infidelity. And Even Today, in Places like Iran, Women are Killed . . . just for Not Covering their Heads, Many By Public Hangings . . . Who Would Want Us To Become Like Them?
In Much Of Africa . . . Murder Is A Blood Sport.
I WROTE IN MY LAST EDITORIAL . . . I AM IFFY ON THE DEATH PENALTY:
Some Days, I Think All Murderers Should Be Murdered By The State, and Make No Mistake About-It . . . You Can Call a State Execution Whatever you Want to Call-it, since it is Done by all Facets of the “Civilized” Legal System . . . From Arrest, to Trial, to Incarceration, to Appeal . . . to Death . . . Call It What You Want – It’s Still Murder, No Matter How It Is Carried-Out.
Maybe That’s The Way To Go . . . But I Have My Reservations.
What I Have No Reservations About, is Making Executions – Murder by the State as a Public Spectacle . . . No One Should Rejoice or be Titillated by the Murder of Anyone . . . Not Even The Murder Of A Human Being With Despicable Moral Values.
Anne (My Wife Of More Than 53-Years) And I Love Each Other Dearly, and on Most things We See Eye-To-Eye, But Not On Everything, Which Includes Capital Punishment, where Anne is in Favor . . . And I Am Pretty-Much Not.
I AM NO SISSY . . . THERE IS NOTHING I WOULDN’T DO PROTECT ME & MINE:
Even Though Anne & I Agree To Disagree . . . We Still Argue Over the Virtue of State Sponsored Murder. But Where We Don’t Argue, is Using Capital Executions as a Government Spectacle . . . Because I Can Assure Anyone Reading This – The Death Penalty Serves No Deterrent To Murders On The Streets Or Witthin Homes & Families.
WHY NOT LIFE DETENTION?
I Have Read Emails & Comments that List Detentions Costing Anywhere from $50,000 Per Year to as Much as $100,000 Per Year Per Convict, which Might be True . . . But Very Questionable, since Anne & I Live a Pretty Good Life . . .
Yet . . . We Make a Monthly Payment for our F-250 Pick-Up, Housing is Not Free, Insurance on the House, F-250, Property & RV is Not Free, Food is Not Free, Especially Since we Eat Quite Well, Travel is Not Free, and Neither is the Fuel to Get to Where we are Going . . . And then there is the Cost of Constant Maintenance . . . And with all of that and More . . . Together, Anne & I Spend Not That Much More Than $50,000 Per Year.
The Question Is Simple . . . How Does an Inmate Housed in a 6-Foot By 8-Foot Concrete Box, who is Served Three Simple Meals Daily, Cooked by the Inmates themselves, Wearing Jumpsuits Cleaned by the Inmates . . . Cost The State Anywhere From $50,000 To $100,000 Per Year?
I Don’t Contest That The Cost Of Detention Is High . . . But Maybe the People Running the Prisons Need some Audited Accounting – Because we all Know – There Is No Institution Run As Well . . . As An Agency Run By The Government.
EITHER WAY . . . IF YOU WANT TO STOP CRIME INCLUDING MURDER . . .
Harden The Laws . . . Enforce The Laws & Make Prison Mean Prison – Long, Hard – & Depending On The Crime . . . Permanent.
All Statistics Pretty Much Say The Same Thing . . . Almost all Violent Crimes are Committed by the Same People who Represent just Several Percentage Points of the Population. Most Violent Crimes are Personal, with the Majority Being Familial . . . You Want To Stop Crime? – Take the Criminals off the Streets & Lock Them-Up.
For Gang Bangers, Habitual Criminals, and Criminals who are Mentally Unstable – Throw Away The Key.
CRIME & PUNISHMENT ARE AS OLD AS CIVILIZATION ITSELF:
Institutions, Tribes & Governments Have Tried All Manner Of Criminal Control.
BUILD MORE PRISONS . . . AS MANY AS ARE NEEDED:
Short Of Exile . . . Societies Have Used Public Shaming, Flogging, Imprisonment & Execution to Deal with Criminals . . . But The Punishments Seem To Change Little, so Short of Executions . . . What’s Left? . . . Long Term Incarceration Is What Is Left.
I DO NOT WANT US TO BECOME THEM:
I Don’t Want to Measure Our (My) Society Against Societies or Cultures that Relish in Death . . . Not Even The Death Of Enemies. We Have to be Much Better than that, If Not . . . What Are We?
You Might Not Agree With Me Or Not . . . But Much Of The Time Neither Does Anne.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
9 Comments
Nope. I don’t agree with you on this one Howard. Executions also help serve as a deterrent to others considering doing such crimes, and they are less expensive than long term jail sentences (20 years @ $100,000. per = $2,000,000. per conviction.) You don’t appear to have calculated the cost of staff – guards, administration, etc., nor the costs of medical, dental, prescriptions, etc. all costed to the taxpayer. Executions should take place much sooner, not after decades of incarceration.
Instead of capital punishment, how about a lifetime sentence of hard labor producing something society needs to pay us back for the cost of their incarceration?
Got to disagree. A particularly heinous murder(s) calls for execution. And in today’s liberal world, the life without parole is not a real outcome many times.
In America today life without parole is a sick joke. As for public execution, I don’t want to cheer at a public execution. I want to see justice served with my own eyes! Then maybe I will believe that justice really exists! Too many bad actors in this world get away with mass murder.
I’m for public execution, however I think it should remain seen only by the victims and/or their families if they wish to see. I certainly don’t think it should be broadcast live on YouTube though.
The public execution of this Islamic scumbag will just make him a martyr. He killed troops serving the country and should face the same fate. But do it without a public viewing.
Public no, but some just need to be eliminated not glorified by extending their life and having the families continue to suffer while the murderer lives on, their taxes and my taxes pay for this
With the OJ Simson debacle it was quite evident that whether you are executed for a crime or not depends on money,fame and/or seating a jury that feels they need to “even the score” for past societal wrongs.That said given the conditions at many prisons it would seem death is the lesser punishment.As for building more prisons the pen in Sioux Falls has chronic guard shortage with 45% of new hires gone in 6 mo. with starting wage at $26 hr 60% nurse short requiring travel nurses that cost mega$
I’ll take the job as lever-puller, noose tightener, injection giver, and/or trigger puller…gratis. Absolutely free of charge to the taxpayer. And I’ll sleep soundly each and every time. However, I will accept a Nobel Peace Prize.