Usually, I disagree with just about everything conservatives say. Their way of thinking is on a level I really cannot stoop to. And believe me, I’ve tried. It has always been my intention to understand their reasoning or lack thereof, but it has finally dawned on me that I simply cannot do it.
That is why I was baffled when I found myself agreeing with a conservative judge who proposed an old fashioned and rather draconian way of executing death row inmates – the firing squad.
Now hold on, hear me out a second. No, I have not figured out a way to understand the conservative way of thinking, like I stated earlier, that’s impossible for me to do. What I think has happened in this case is the conservative judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, has elevated his thinking to my level.
What do I mean by that? Well it’s simple. I’ve always believed that the death penalty and executions, are horrible aways for a civilized society to deal with those who have committed unthinkable crimes. I would like to think that we call ourselves “civilized” for a reason. I have no problems with locking these folks up for the rest of their lives, but putting someone to death, no matter the way we choose to do it, seems rather primitive.
That is why I agree with the judge. Not because I agree with the method he proposed, I don’t. But rather because I agree with the message that method sends – that the death penalty is a “brutal” act.
In his dissent in the Arizona death penalty case of Joseph Rudolph Wood III, Chef Judge Alex Kozinski wrote;
“Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and beautiful — like something any one of us might experience in our final moments.
“But executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf.”
Indeed. Why try to mask the killing of a human being by making the process look like a medical procedure. If you are serious about what you want to do with the inmate and your “civilized” morals are okay with killing that person, then show the execution for what it really is, a brutal Savage event. Maybe then we will see just how barbaric we really are and maybe, just maybe we will change.
