|
 The headlines in the newspapers and TV were clamoring this week. First with the news of Scott Peterson being found guilty of murder and then with the speculation as to what his punishment would be. We didn’t have to wait long, basically just the weekend, before the second shoe dropped. The sentence was death.
“So Scott, now that you’ve been found guilty of the double murder of your wife and unborn child what are you going to do next?” Well it’s not going to be Disneyland.
“I’m going to San Quentin’s Death Row.” Yes Scott you are. Hopefully, by whatever means necessary, your fellow inmates will wipe that smug little expression off of your face. You know, the one that you displayed throughout your trial.
The papers in his murdered wife’s hometown of Modesto screamed “Justice For Laci” after hearing his fate. The people there cheered his demise as though the case was closed and they were going to take the vicious little varmint out back of the courthouse and string him up. While this is what should be done, it couldn’t be further from the awful truth.
What is really going to happen is that this scumbag is going to join the other 641 scumbags that currently reside on death row and will probably live longer than most of us. The chances are, that unless one of his fellow inmates do us a favor, it will be decades before the state straps him down and fills him with San Quentin Joy Juice or opts for the gas chamber. It’s nice that we let him have a choice as to how he dies, a luxury that Laci didn’t have. To me this is far from justice for Laci or her family. How can it be when there is the distinct possibility that he will live longer behind bars than she did in her entire life.
The last person we executed in California was in 2002, and that was after that condemned man spent 20 years on death row. I wonder how many members of his victim’s family and friends had passed away without ever gaining closer for his crime? I wonder how much money was spent on the care and housing of that inmate for 20 years?
Well funny you should mention that Bill, because I just happen to have the current stats right here in front of me. It now costs the State of California $30,929 a year to house each inmate, that is if they stay healthy. If they get the sniffles, of course, it costs more. That means if each condemned person has 20 years of appeals before they are executed we will have paid $618,580 to keep each murderer alive. Multiply that by 642 and you get $397,128,360.00. By all accounts, this is a reality given our state’s slow movement on the execution of its prisoners.
These are the numbers now. These numbers, both in housing and the condemned, are, of course, going to go up. Unless we start getting rid of some of our dead weight, so to speak, the next thing we will be hearing about is building or adding onto existing prisons to house the death row prisoners. It’s almost as if we don’t want to get rid of this trash, like it is some kind of human collection that we are saving for prosperity.
We here in California have the worst record of any state that has the death penalty as far as carrying out executions. This despite having the most condemned to death. Since we were given the green light to dispose of our most violent criminals in 1992 we have only found the time to throw the switch on 10. Hell, Texas does more than that in a week.
I really don’t understand why our governor, Arnold The Terminator, isn’t all over this topic given how much money these vermin are costing the state. Getting rid of the bad guys was one of the things that we always liked about him when he was on the screen. Since moving to Sacramento he seems to have turned into a cream puff, maybe it’s something in the water up there.
The appeals system has gotten completely out of control. It is pointless to have the ability to enact a punishment that fits the crime and not use it. I have said in the past that we should adopt some good old fashion justice and now is as good a time as any. I think it should be as it was in the old west. Found guilty on Friday, string 'em up on Saturday morning. Especially nowadays when the trials, like Peterson’s, cost the taxpayers millions of dollars to begin with. I say, short of the cost of a last meal, we shouldn’t have to pay one penny more for their upkeep.
Granted, the place Peterson is going to is not like the country club Martha Stewart is residing at, not by a long shot. He’ll understand that as soon as he gets to the entrance (pictured.) If not then, then I’m sure it will only be after a few days and nights with his 641 new best friends. Maybe it will finally sink in that divorce, instead of murder, would have been a better option. Still, instead of letting him set up a little home, where he will be fed and taken care of for as long as his appeals will last, the only thing he should hear after walking through that entrance is…
“Will that be lethal injection or gas Mr. Peterson?”
The Shrub Speaks: I don't view relations as one that there's a score card that says, you know, well, if we all fight terror together, therefore, somebody owes somebody something. The White House, Dec. 4, 2004
B.D.’s Response: What? You were supposed to be answering a question about Pakistani-American relations. What are you talking about?
|
