It was a good weekend, Friday we went to dinner to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary, Saturday we went to the Batabanu parade, and Sunday The Wife went out with some friends from Costa Rica and I went to the beach.

I saw a headline “Killer dies after botched execution” and thought, “hmmm, if he died, it sounds like a successful execution, not a botched one.”

Then I read the article, and you know the story.

I start thinking about it, and to me it comes down to: What is the purpose of the death penalty? Is it to get the criminal off the street? Or is it supposed to be a deterrent? I think it should be both.

I don’t think they should wait years from the time the sentence is passed down to the time it is carried out, either. I think it should be within a pre-determined time, 3 days, 30 days….

Also, what’s the problem with lethal injections? Veterinarians have been putting down large animals for years and years with no problems. Get the local vet to do it.

I don’t really see the necessity for this “no suffering” law. I mean, even hanging has to hurt for a second. Electric chair probably hurts the most. I guess the no suffering law indicates the death penalty is to be a way to get the criminal off the street, and not a deterrent to potential criminals. I think that’s wrong thinking. I think it should be a deterrent, big time. If I go to work late, I get in trouble, that’s why I don’t go in late. It’s not because I’m dedicated or any crap like that. It’s the consequences that keep me in line for some things… I think… lemme think about that some more.

I think  that if the death penalty is to be a deterrent, it needn’t be painless, I’m not saying torture or anything like that, but something no potential criminal would want, like hanging or decapitation (even one bullet costs too much). I don’t think it should be “if you kill someone, the penalty will be that you will painlessly go to sleep forever”. If the purpose of the death penalty is to get the criminal off the street, then the death penalty is unnecessary.  They’ll be off the street in prison.

The death penalty is a very strong statement, I think that statement is: “You have done something so bad that society has determined you don’t get to exist on this planet any more. You do not deserve any enjoyment, not even as small an enjoyment as reading  a book or laughing at a joke in prison. You will cease to exist for your crime.” To me, that’s the punishment, AND the deterrent.

I heard Cayman Islands used to have the death penalty, hanging was the method.

That being said, HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!