The Death Penalty: Cruelty or Justice?
May 26, 2014 10:30 AM
Listening to "Silhouette of a Life" by 10 years

I read an article in the paper about the death penalty and I wanted to discuss it.

A lawyer named Christine Flowers wrote an interesting article on the death penalty. She mentioned a case. I cannot include the article because I am sending it to my friends in Italy, but she spoke of a case about the 13-minute botched execution of a man named Clayton Lockett. Ms. Flowers is pro-death penalty. She did have a great point.

Everyone spoke of how agonizing the 43 minutes were for him, but few mentioned the reason he was there. Stephanie Neiman. She was the woman that Clayton Lockett shot and buried alive. Two wrongs do not make a right, but let's not forget Stephanie, the woman who was murdered for no good reason.

I am not anti-death penalty, but I do believe the system is flawed. If one human being is killed and later found to be innocent, the system has failed. And I do believe it's failed. Someone famous once said, "If we were to use an eye for an eye, everyone would be blind." I don't remember who said it, but someone famous. I was almost sentenced to death, so I weigh in on topics like this when I'm asked.

As a society, when are we supposed to show compassion? I took a man's life. I did not want it to happen nor did I mean for it to happen, but the end result is it did happen. Am I ever supposed to be shown compassion? Am I supposed to show compassion to others? Do we forgive but not forget? Do we punish for the rest of their lives? Do we give people a second chance?

We cannot continue to just lock people up for the rest of their lives. We are a country in financial trouble, and the hole is getting deeper. Our government gives away hundreds of billions of dollars, money this country needs, but we give it away under the guise of "foreign aid." Why are we giving money away, especially that much? I have no clue. Obama, Biden, and Congress are all failing this country.

I don't wanna get sidetracked here; this is about the death penalty. I had a pretty gruesome crime. That's what the papers called it. Should I have been killed for it? Some of you's who have been reading my blog for awhile now know me a little. Should I had one of my jurors tell me to my face that he did not believe that I killed the man on purpose but dismembering his corpse led to him convicting me? The man even apologized to me for convicting me.

Our system requires an unanimous verdict. I would not have gotten a life sentence if I had not disposed of the body. I've met guys who have raped and murdered women and only gotten 15-30 years. They were shown compassion by a district attorney, but what about people like me? People who will not reoffend, who can still make a difference in life? Are we ever going to be shown compassion?

Jesus spoke of forgiveness, compassion, and we call ourselves Christian or religious. But when we hate someone we seek vengeance. I am not saying I'm right. God knows I have been wrong most of my life. But when do we start forgiving and giving a second chance? I just don't understand how we can lock everyone up, throw away the key, and say let 'em rot. Forgiveness, showing compassion, is the hardest. I've not mastered it, and I don't expect everyone to see things my way, but maybe we could try. Start small.

I have no perfect answers, no right one or wrong one. Just my opinion and how I see life. I leave you with that. Do I want the death penalty for the man who killed my Justine? Yes, I do. In my heart I have not been able to forgive or show compassion. But I'm a nobody. Just a prisoner. I don't register on society's radar.

Today I honor and remember everyone in my family who fought in the military. I thank everyone for their service and for keeping our country safe. I will continue to work on myself and my own demons.

I also want to wish my sister-in-law, Rachel Butterworth (Pezzeca), a very happy 21st birthday on June 18th. Rachel saved my brother JJ and gave us my beautiful niece, Baby Lucy. Happy birthday Rachel.

And to society, I ask: when do we show compassion? Do we ever? I struggle with it myself. So I ask you. Take care, stay safe, and god bless. I look forward to your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Ciao.

P.S. On June 20th, my sister Jennifer and her husband Sheldon Bennett will celebrate their 6th wedding anniversary. I want to wish them a very happy anniversary and I am keeping my step-mom, Sandy, in my prayers. Praying for god's healing.