The American Execution Contradiction.

If nothing else, the USA is the land of paradox. For example, more than three hundred million people occupy it. Yet the vast majority of the population is squeezed into California, the north east states and some southern states, while states like Wyoming and Montana, two of the most beautiful states, are sparsely occupied. Go to a baseball game. Before a ball is pitched, someone holding a microphone will lead the singing of the national anthem, praising the States as the land of the free. But at any given time, some two percent of the American population is incarserated in a federal or state prison.

The Declaration of Independence seeks to guarantee certain inalienable rights. Thomas Jefferson and colleagues were eager to protect “life,” as well as liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yet America's federal government and thirty-two states maintain the death penalty on their statute books. Thus a majority of Americans live under laws which include the legal right for the state to execute people, ending their lives before the natural span has expired. It occurs to me that the Declaration of Independence suffers from a lack of clarity. Should it not have guaranteed "the right to life, provided the law is not transgressed and a capital crime committed?"

There is a fundamental question. Should any state or nation have the right to withdraw human life? My belief is that it should not. Too many mistakes have been made over the years and people have been wrongly executed. Setting my personal views aside, America remains the only western democracy that retains the right to curtail life. Why is it so out of step with its political partners?

I have written before about the death penalty so why am I going down this route again? In a word, Utah. The state government of Utah has decided to alter its method of execution. It can no longer purchase lethal injection chemicals. Evidently, the sole supplier is the EU, which will no longer oblige. Is there no other concoction? Veterinary surgeons all over the country put dogs "to sleep" every day. They administer an anaethsetic, followed by a drug that stops the heart. Cannot something similar be found for humans in America?

Faced with the dilemma, the Utah legislators have decided to reinstate the firing squad, a method that was outlawed by the state more than ten years ago. Talk about going back to the dark ages. A Utah legislator said, "It will only take a few seconds for people to die. It’s a quick bleed out." This punishment seems cruel and unusual, offending the 8th Amendment. Will Governor Herbert, a Republican, sign the bill into law? His term of office expires next year. If he wishes to run again, does he need to be seen to be tough on crime?

Currently, Utah has five people on death row. How will they feel about being shot to death? Why should we care? These people have been convicted of capital crimes and have received the benefit of a two phase trial. Does it matter how they die? The answer must be “yes” as the Supreme Court has often considered the ways and means of lethal execution.

Utah is a beautiful state, Salt Lake City excepted. How can its citizens be happy with a law which will sully the state's reputation? As for the shooters themselves, did they sign up to kill in cold blood? The death penalty is an aspect of American life which I find beyond belief.