Capital Punishment- For Or Against?

The state gave one the needle yesterday. A multiple murderer who needed it. And he slipped away into sleep and then into death. Nowhere near as easily as his victims died. He beat them to death, so I hear.

I started work at the prison where this happened. The place was brand new and they built a room especially for doing executions. The room was apparently classified top secret because nobody had the keys for it and nobody could let us in to see it and we weren't allowed to see the room anyway.

Idiots.

After I had been there about six months they sent around a memo asking for staff members who might be interested in being on the execution team. Maybe interested wasn't the word. Willing to be on the team. I signed up. I figured it would be worth some overtime now and then.

The memo started a huge debate on camp. And it showed what a bad judge of character I really am. All the hard core hoo-rah types that I thought would be the first ones to sign up were the ones saying loudly that they wanted nothing to do with executions. It was only the quiet ones and the odd ones like me that were saying "What the hell..... I'll do it."

Opened a big can of worms, that did.

But of course, I wasn't one of the "In Crowd" there, so I wasn't even considered. With the Major we had there at the time you had to be one of his boot licking crew to get any kind of special assignment. And I despised the arrogant little sawed off S.O.Beeotch. He was a prick. The kind of person that wouldn't even acknowledge you if you spoke to him.

And I only stayed there eight or nine months before I transferred to where I am now. And they didn't do any executions while I was there. So it wouldn't have mattered if they had put me on the team or not. If they hadn't transferred me I would have quit.

I seem to have wandered off topic.

Lethal injection is supposed to be "humane". Personally, I don't see the point. You just go to sleep and stop breathing. That's no deterrent. Like going to prison at all is no longer a deterrent. Going to prison is like taking a vacation and being executed is going to sleep.

I think at least they should bring back hanging and the electric chair. They are both nasty deaths and would make people afraid to take that step. I agree that the gas chamber was not a good idea. Way too hazardous for staff and bystanders and not good for the environment. But the other two worked pretty well.

As long as you kept the sponge wet.

Maybe we should bring back stoning to death. Make it an audience participation thing. Give the victims families a chance at some satisfaction. I'll bet Nolan Ryans family would be safe forever.

Or better yet, let's make it something truly gruesome and macabre. Something so truly horrific that it would make people really afraid of the death penalty.

Being tied up and sealed alive in a coffin full of beetles and immediately buried.

That would do it. I'd sure behave myself.

I'll be accused of being to harsh. I don't care. I think prison should be a punishment. Not the vacation day care center that it is now. They have it too easy and now they go out too easy. That in itself is a crime. Humanity should be spared for humans. Most of these animals are no longer human and should be treated as such.

I'd heard that our new governor was going to change things for the better. Not better for them, better for us. Haven't seen anything as of yet. I'd love to see a four word telegram from his office stating: "The gloves are off."

Showtime.

The little pricks would learn to behave themselves then, I'm sure.