The police have two men in custody who may very well be the notorious snipers that have terrorized Virginia, Maryland, and the Washington D.C. area. I hope and pray these are the men, the spontaneous killing will stop, and they will be rightly punished.
Here in Utah, far away from the sniper, we may not fully understand the fear that people in that area experienced as the sniper took five, nine, and thirteen victims. For three weeks the killers selected innocent people and coldly murdered them. But some of us in Utah do feel panic for our family and friends in that area. My in-laws as well as dear friends live only miles from many of the shootings, but I did not realize the true terror individuals were going through until my friend confided that he hadn’t been out of his house in four days.
Yet, some people will still beg for mercy upon these murderers. They will cry and wail that these poor disturbed creators who aimlessly killed people should not suffer a cruel and unusual punishment such as the death penalty. Hopefully when the snipers go to trial the judge will feel empowered to offer an alternative sentence.
Like the story by Richard Connell, “The most dangerous game,” perhaps it would satisfy critics of the death penalty if the judge ruled to place the two snipers, unarmed, on an island and have them hunted and killed by military trained American soldiers. Let them experience the fright of not knowing exactly when, where, or what it will feel like to die. And hopefully the soldiers will miss a few times, not quit killing the snipers, but leaving them in such excruciating pain. Hopefully the hunt will go on for weeks and these heartless snipers will be afraid to sleep. And this should not be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment because it is exactly what the snipers did to thousands of people.
I’m glad people are against lethal injection, firing squads, and electrocution. That is an unusual way to punish malicious murderers. Why should they get off so easy to experience a quick and scheduled death? It seems much fairer to maintain the surprise as well as the similar manner of death. Timothy McVeigh, the Okalahoma City bomber, should have been in a building that was bombed, maybe while he was on the john or at some other time when he wouldn’t expect it. Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, should have a lovely packaged mail to him labeled “really yummy candy” with a fatal bomb inside. This we could still do, he’s in prison for life.
But this is unfair, people will say. They will continue by reminding us all that Tim, Teddy and our two snipers are all people, they have rights too. Do they? It seems to me when you rape, murder, and trample the rights of innocent people you should understand that you are giving up your rights as a human being. Why should we hold sacred the rights of those with no care for human life?
Still people will argue that prison is a worse punishment than death. In prison, criminals are forced to reflect and think upon their crimes and the pain they caused. I wonder if Charles Manson feels torment for his past actions yet. Does he even have remorse to torture himself with? But prison is not designed as true punishment, but as rehabilitation. Prisoners are kept away from the outside world for the world’s safety and the hope is that someday criminals will be released to function as citizens again and shop, have families, and jobs. Is prison really the place for those who commit multiple murders? If they didn’t feel bad after one, chances are they won’t feel bad after 13 or 168 even.
But what do I know? I’ve never known a serial killer personally. I’ve never talked to one and truly tried to see what they were feeling. No one in my family or close to me has been on death row.
I would like to turn those questions around for all those who think the death penalty in no circumstance should be upheld. Have you ever had someone close to you murdered? Have you ever seen someone innocent die from a bloody gunshot or destructive bomb? Have you ever received a telephone call from the police explaining that your little brother was shot through the chest at school today by a complete stranger still on the loose?
The death penalty is not barbarous. Society is not implementing deaths to criminals similar to their crimes. We are not hunting and killing for sport. The death penalty is quick and justified. It is more humane to protect millions of innocent people rather than have mercy on a savage killer.
