Seattle Police Officer Killings

I’m outraged. Unmitigated, un-tempered, multiple expletives deleted, outraged.  While we hand out get-out-of-jail-early cards due to “budget constraints” on our prison systems, we have insane people running amok across the country killing police officers, campus students, family members, and women en masse. 

Enough of this turn-the-other-cheek, where did we go wrong and slight you.  Where is eye-for-an-eye when we need it?  Oh, I know.  The recession made me do it, and that is Bush’s fault.  Enough of that too.

IMO justice must be swifter and surer.  Our fellow men and women police officers and the citizens they protect should not have to fear for their lives in the most mundane of circumstances.

Jail time should be a WHOLE lot less comfortable.  (We might even save money.)  If you don’t want to be caged like an animal then don’t act like one.

Philosophically I think the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment.  We’re already putting hundreds to death for crimes against humanity.  Perhaps if we continue to incarcerate and dispatch those inhumans amongst us in sufficient quantities we will all become so thoroughly disgusted that the penalty will someday become a deterrent.  I surely don’t know, but the bloodbath of innocent people in the streets and homes has got to stop.

I’m outraged.  Internalized, but outraged.

UPDATE 12/02/2009:

I nearly deleted this blog as I find the subject matter highly distasteful, to put it mildly. Justice has been served, in this case, but we must find a way to be proactive, before the loss of innocent lives, rather than reactive, after the fact. It is a delicate dance on the sword blade of democracy, falling into chaos and anarchy off one side or lock step fascist socialism off the other. Even distasteful subjects have to be dealt with however.

Cheapening Murder?

(Well, for title the instructions sometimes say "give us something catchy".) This is about the Colorado legislature bill to repeal the death penalty. ( Denver Post article and discussion.) In a TV panel discussion a couple of years ago about dropping the death penalty I heard Dennis Prager say "It cheapens murder". The rest of the panel looked at him aghast, and I didn't get it at first either. But what he was saying was, if the price for taking another person's life is not expensive, such as the death penalty, it cheapens the crime, making it no big deal.

With no death penalty a person may be more inclined to take another's life if they know they can only get jail time, even if it's life in prison, for doing so. On the other hand I've often heard it said that if you take one life you might as well take as many as you want as you can only pay with one death penalty. (And you still may have a chance at jail time.) Lovely logic either way.

Certainly taking a human life, whether as a crime or a legal punishment, is a horrible thing. Death could be said to be a cruel and unusual punishment, as might be said about a life without parole spent in incarceration (except that the incarcerated IS alive, but his murder victim is not).

I have often felt that someone taking another's life has given up their own right to life. (Just talking crime here, not war and "legitmate" (?) life-taking.) If we want to hold life as extremely precious then the penalty for taking another's life has to be extremely expensive. My vote would be for the death penalty. Could I throw the switch on a convicted killer myself? I don't know, but if it was because I'd lost a family member or loved one I'd have to give it some very, very serious thought. Who is going to fire the last shot, the killers or the victims? What do you think?