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Editor:
It's easy to understand why the Wildcat editorial board would cheer the death sentence imposed on Beau John Greene, the confessed killer of music professor Roy A. Johnson ("Dead Right," Aug. 28). Murderers are easy to hate. A life sentence without parole, although it would protect society just as effectively, isn't "barbaric" enough, to use the editorial's own description of the death penalty it supports.
We think that by executing the killer, we can make the surviving family and friends' pain and grief go away. Then it becomes easier to forget about them, and to forget about all the work that needs to be done to build a society where all people feel they have better alternatives than perpetrating crime and violence. We can just beat our chests, point a justified finger of blame at the "bad guy" and bask in our moral superiority.
We, the "good guys," would never commit murder, because we have the all-powerful State to do it for us. We distrust government, yet when it comes to executions, we insist that the State must have the power to kill in order to teach that killing is wrong. (It's interesting, though, that Israel has not judicially executed anyone since 1962, not even Prime Minister Rabin's assassin, and that South Africa's highest court just recently abolished the death penalty).
If we must kill the killers, then we should also rape the rapists, beat the batterers, and cut off the hands of thieves. Eighth Amendment be damned! We should follow China's example, where a recent crackdown on crime led to the execution of about 1,000 petty criminals by firing squad. That would certainly decrease the number of bicycles and computers stolen from the UA campus (or would it?).
Perhaps we could follow Nigeria's example, where nine environmental activists were recently executed on trumped up charges. Imagine being able to get rid of all those pesky Mount Graham protesters - permanently! Surely, we would all sleep better knowing that Big Brother is watching us, ready to use lethal force as deemed appropriate!
But seriously folks, if you want to see what can happen when the State has the power to execute people, watch for Amnesty International's upcoming event on Friday, Nov. 1 on the UA Mall. This will feature a woman whose husband was executed for a murder he didn't commit, and for which she spent years in prison as his alleged accomplice, although she was totally innocent. Don't think it couldn't happen to you or to someone you love!
Howard Druan, J.D.
College of Law, Class of 1996
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