Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Crime and a Civil Society


As I recall I found this on the wall of an airport bathroom.  A friend of mine came to DC as a senior staffer for Senator Larry Craig. Needless to say my friend was in need of a new job.

 I was in a conference the other day and a victims' advocate, suggested that in an adult guardianship case, if you are unhappy with the way things are going in the courts, just take the person to another state and start the legal process over again. In legal terms, kidnap an adult with a mental disability, and start the process over again in another state.  Most of the room was appalled by his suggestion to commit a felony if you are losing in the courts, but he was steadfast in his resolve.  (I bet he voted for Trump!) 

There was a story on NPR (National Public Radio) this morning about the shortage of drugs for lethal injection executions. One state is in a pinch, the supply of drugs they have on hand are expiring and they are unable to find a supplier willing to sell them new drugs.  So the state has scheduled 8 executions in a four day period.  In a state that has not done an execution in a decade.  

Now I will admit that when I lived in Florida there were a couple of executions that I felt were people who really deserved to die (Ted Bundy for one.)  

But no matter how despicable the criminal, we are asking another human being to intentionally end the life of a human being.  In essence society is allowing a person to commit a murder to avenge a murder.  Overlooking the potential for the criminal to change and play a positive role in human society, we are asking state employees to commit the crime we sentence people to death for, intentionally ending the life of another person.  It is logically inconsistent that one person kills for a living persons who killed. One committed a crime, and the other is doing his or her job.  Anything that normalizes murder, is bad for society. 

It is time to end capital punishment.  Allowing one person to kill others who have killed, is so contrary to living in a civil society.  

What to you think about execution and it's impact on society?  

6 comments:

  1. I'm also against capital punishment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4/12/2017

    A very succinct explanation of why I, too, am against capital punishment. For me, it's the total illogicality of committing a crime to punish a crime.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am also strongly against capital punishment, and am glad Australia abolished it many years ago. The last state, WA, abolished it in 1984, but our country's last execution was in 1972.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I stand against capital punishment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's an awful thing, given the company we keep (the countries that have such vs. thems who don't). I think this says something

    ReplyDelete
  6. i really likes your blog and You have shared the whole concept really well. and Very beautifully soulful read! thanks for sharing.
    ตารางคะแนน

    ReplyDelete