This is the face of the 1000th human being to be executed in the US since 1976.
Remember it next time you hear the Bush administration use the word civilized.
Kenneth Lee Boyd was pronounced dead at 2.15 AM.
Bush had 152 people put to death during his 6 years as governor of Texas.
That's about 1 death warrant signed every fortnight.
"I take every death penalty case seriously", said Bush.
Reassuring. Yet he often only had the confidentail death penalty memos
shown to him on the very day of the execution.
So I wonder how mundane the whole thing must have become after a while.
"Hey Alberto, whacha got for me today?"
"oh, just another one of these forms to sign."
"Is it Friday already? What did the guy do anyhow?"
"Oh, some really bad stuff sir."
"Well I suppose we gotta do what we gotta do .... there we go (signing form). Now. How the kids getting along?"
7 comments:
The names of the two human beings Mr Boyd murdered were Julie Boyd (his wife) and her father Thomas Curry.
Personally I have more sympathy for them and their families than for Ken Boyd.
It's a little perverse to care more about a murderer than about his innocent victims.
By the way, speaking of Boyd's kids, Boyd's son Christopher was pinned to the ground when his mother's body fell on him when Boyd shot her. Christopher saved himself by dragging himself under a bed as Boyd kept shooting his mother's dead body.
Mayoman, you're missing the point of the post methinks. The issue isn't one of having more sympathy for the murderer than the victims, or anything as lofty as loving the sinner but hating the sin, it's just that it's grossly hypocritical for a putatively evolved society to routinely murder its citizens. Murder is murder, be it state-sanctioned or the arbitrary act of a member of that state. If we're gonna fling ourselves down the eye-for-an-eye road of the religious zealot, it might also be worth looking up those chapters on Forgiveness.
And I just really liked the pretty colours of font you used...
Why yes, now I understand...
Well Mayoman, I'm afraid I have to agree with Tony. you missed the point. I'm not denying that Ken Boyd should be punished. I just think that execution is a backward and barbaric practice. There are only three other countries in the world that execute as many people as in the States. Why don't you have a guess which they are? If it helps, I'll give you a hint. None of them are particularly democratic. I don't believe in killing for revenge, or in killing as a deterent. Same goes for stoning and chopping off the hands of thieves. Would you like to see capital punishment reintroduced in Ireland?
Hey John
In a word, yes.
[stunned silence]
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