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News recently spread across the wires that Florida has suspended all executions and California has implemented a moratorium on executions. The reason? On December 13, 2006, Angel Nieves Diaz took 34 minutes to die, twice the usual time for someone receiving a lethal injection.
Diaz died at age 55 for murdering a manager of a topless bar in Miami during a holdup in 1979. Diaz's lawyer, Suzanne Keffler, says the delayed death shows disregard for Diaz. Ok, I know it's hard for lawyers to get simple truths, but he was being put to death, not crowned Mr. Universe.
And for those who say Diaz's execution was botched, I have a question. Did this guy die? Since the answer is yes, I don't see the problem. Perhaps executions of criminals shouldn't be humane or even appear humane. He was a convicted killer and died about 27 years too late. So what if his death took about 15 minutes longer than usual? Perhaps the extra time gave him a few moments to consider his evil deeds. So what if he suffered? Why the whining and tears for a convict?
We're so soft now that we weep for the criminals rather than for the victims. Our tears are misplaced. This man's execution wasn't botched. He died, so I say, mission accomplished! The fact that he might have died a painful death or an extended death shouldn't cause remorse. We should weep that he didn't die in 1979 after he'd been found guilty. We should weep for a justice system that shows far more favors to those found guilty than those who suffer as victims.
I understand that the end doesn't justify the means…but the means was just. We kill those who murder innocent people.
To help us sleep better at night, we've spent too much time thinking about how executions can be nice and neat, rather than how they can truly depict the horror of taking an innocent life.
For my article on why Christians should support the death penalty, click here: http://www.neednotfret.com/content/view/73/50/
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