Without too much description from me, I trust you'll be able to work out this link's interest.
"What I want people to know is that they call me a cold-blooded killer when I shot a man that shot me first. The only thing that convicted me was that I am a Mexican and that he was a police officer. People hollered for my life, and they are to have my life tonight. The people never hollered for the life of the policeman that killed a thirteen-year-old boy who was handcuffed in the back seat of a police car. The people never hollered for the life of a Houston police officer who beat up and drowned Jose Campo Torres and threw his body in the river. You call that equal justice. This is your equal justice. This is America’s equal justice. A Mexican’s life is worth nothing. When a policeman kills someone he gets a suspended sentence or probation. When a Mexican kills a police officer this is what you get. From there you call me a cold-blooded murderer. I didn’t tie anyone to a stretcher. I didn’t pump any poison into anybody’s veins from behind a locked door. You call this justice. I call this and your society a bunch of cold-blooded murderers. I don’t say this with any bitterness or anger. I just say this with truthfulness. I hope God forgives me for all my sins. I hope that God will be as merciful to society as he has been to me. I’m ready, Warden."
Woah, that guy really thought out his last words. Very profound.
ReplyDeleteThing is, he raises very, very good points. It angers me how people call for someone's execution, but they don't have to do it themselves. They don't have to see the light leave their eyes.
There was a moment in Jericho where the mayor was going to have a criminal taken away and "dealt with", but the main character wouldn't let him and forced him to pull the trigger himself. It was interesting how much that changed his mind.
I've always been confused as to how a society that deplores murder can themselves murder civilians. Three things struck me as I was reading through some of the offender statements:
ReplyDelete1) Most of the people on death row had no prior criminal offences before they committed the crime
2) 90% of people executed claim Christianity - phrases such as "I'll see you on the other side" are common. Maybe it's just consoling family members before death?
3) Hillsong is popular with death row inmates - a lot of them start singing/quoting "shout to the lord" or similar.
Another thing that stood out is that in most cases you just can't be certain they did commit the offence. Some expresses wishes that people had seen particular pieces of evidence.
Then again, there was a guy there who gave a trivial apology for raping and murdering a 90+ year old woman, so there are some people such as these for whom it may be argued a death sentence may be justified.
"...Hillsong is popular with death row inmates - a lot of them start singing/quoting "shout to the lord" or similar...." ???
ReplyDeleteOMG
Death isn't good enough for them!
Ha ha! They're singing Hillsong! Execute them for their taste in music! :P
ReplyDeleteI hope one day we have enough technological independance to make governments irellevant.
ReplyDelete