Death Penalty

Yesterday in Florida the execution of a convicted murderer took place and the process surrounding the event was, as usual focused on saving this man from the deadly needle. Of course, little if any time was spent on the victim and her family because they were old news as the murder took place 25 years ago. In fact there was a considerable amount of animus directed at the relatives of the victim who was a young woman put to death by the murderer for no other reason than to keep him out of jail due to a parole violation. She was shot in the head so this guy could stay out of jail for a few months imagine that. He was 19 and she was in her early twenties. He was a bum and she was a Park Ranger doing a job she loved. Now 25 years after being convicted and sentenced he was finally going to receive the ultimate penalty for committing the ultimate crime and yet the same bunch of folks that cry out every time there is an execution were out in full force trying to reverse the legal system. I believe in the “Death Penalty” with one small change to the criteria for this sentence. Instead of “found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt” I would change it to “found guilty beyond any doubt” in order to obtain this sentence for murder. In all other cases “life’ (meaning actual life) not 25 years etc. would be appropriate. And let’s not get all mushy about the criminal’s conversion to religion or “what a good person he has become”. Of course he has changed after sitting around on death row for 25 years with nothing other to do than try and rehabilitate himself in order to try and get his sentence reduced. Would he have taken this same route if he had escaped capture for his crime? I would wager “not a chance”. Keeping these cold blooded murderers out of society is necessary for the safety of all law abiding citizens and any consideration for the criminal comes after this objective has been achieved. As for the plea for mercy I would suggest that if these self righteous folks can find a way to provide the victim with her life back then I say why waste your sympathies on the wrong side of the ledger. Sure it is a popular thing to do in the Liberal world since they always have more concern for the perpetrator than the victim because they believe everyone can be saved and become as compassionate as they are. Unfortunately there are elements in our society that are what they are and will never change their stripes. This is a fact that has been known through out history and yet is disregarded by those that cry to forgive these poor souls. Forgiveness on a personal level is fine but it should not alter the course of the legal process. Even if it is a deterrent in only 25% of potential killings it is still important, particularly for those 25% of those potential victims. Thankfully the Governor stood his ground and would not interfere with the legal process. Good for him.