Friday, December 02, 2005

The Death Penalty...


It seems that all week I’ve been hearing about the death penalty in one form or another whether it be in a blog like Emory’s The Mayne Events or in the NYC media…either way I’ve had to think about it. When I was a little Mia I was pro death penalty. As I got older I changed my mind, I can’t tell you what made me change it because I don’t even know.

The issue is being brought up again in New York this week out of anger and despair.New York City has been in mourning since Monday, one of our finest (NYPD) Officer Dillon Stewart was killed in the line of duty. Now our beloved (being kind here) Governor Pataki is calling for the death penalty for cop killers. He says that it's a way to show our officers that we value their work, and what they do for us laying their lives on the line. WTF?!! How about we pay them what they deserve, and not give them any crap when it comes time to renegotiate their contracts? Let’s show our appreciation while they are alive and kicking, nothing says,”Gracias for a job well done” better than cold hard cash and benefits while they are still around to spend it.

Pataki has been on this death penalty kick since 1995 when he signed it into law, but it has been in the land of limbo in New York since the Court of Appeals ruled in June 2004 that part of the law was unconstitutional. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said at the time that they would revise the law and in true politico nature have done squat, the legislature has not tried to write a new death penalty to remedy the legal problems. This is the one time I don't mind them dragging their feet. David Kaczynski, executive director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, urged against taking any action in the heat of the moment. “This is an affront to the community, but any time you craft a law out of emotion, it is a bad law," Kaczynski said. "What we have now that we didn't have in 1995 is 10 years' experience with the death penalty. We thought it would be the magic bullet and we see it hasn't been," he said.

I think that executing someone for murder is letting them off easy. Heaven forbid I lost a loved one to a killer, I wouldn’t want the schmuck killed. I’d want the bastard to get life in prison with no chance of parole ever…LIFE IN PRISON and that doesn’t mean that in 25 yrs someone can decide he’s been rehabilitated and release him. LIFE MEANS LIFE! I’d want him to live his life out remembering what he did…to suffer the loss of his freedom. As a matter of fact if he went into cardiac arrest and was dying I’d want someone to hook his ass up to a defibrillator and shock him back to life. When he finally dies of old age I’d want his body cremated and his ashes scattered in the prison yard.

Unless the death penalty has Lazarus powers and can bring back the victims from the dead it serves no real purpose other than revenge. Some argue that it is a deterrent to crime… ummm nope don’t think so or are states like Texas that still have the death penalty crime free now? Life in prison with no chance of parole...ever...not even if Jesus and a few of his apostles wrote the parole board a few letters. Now that's a deterrent.

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Posted by @ 6:00 PM
6 comment from:  programmer craig,  programmer craig,  Mia,  Just Jane,  Emory Mayne,  Mia,