2001-07-22 - 11:58 p.m.
Okay, I had a great weekend, and it even contained some time for relaxation. Friday night I worked until 7:30, then headed out to the rehersal for B+MENG�s wedding, which was the highlight of the weekend. Afterwards, a couple of us hung out at B�s place, then got some sleep. The ceremony was great � held in the oldest working courthouse in the states (Fairfax, VA), with B�s dad conducting the ceremony. I was touched. I did, however, manage to lose the pool on what time the wedding would start. They�ve had such a great record with SCA courts that I had to go for an on time start � and, truthfully, they were only 15 minutes behind schedule.
Today was filled with nothing, which was exactly what I needed. T and I house-sat for a friend in oh-my-god-I�m-almost-in-West-Virginia, Maryland. This evening, we headed in closer to home for an impromptu cook-out, which was also big fun. Then I headed back to my place to take care of some things in preparation for the coming week.
While I was doing some laundry, I caught the end of �The Green Mile� on Showtime. Once again, here I am caught in an internal battle over capital punishment. Yeah, I know it was a fictional account, but the simple fact is that I view the justice system as victory motivated. The job performance evaluation of many prosecutors seems to depend a great deal on successful prosecution of allegations, which I have a very hard time with. As long as win-loss plays a factor, can justice truly be served in the courtroom? Seems to me to be a potential conflict of interest �
Don�t get me wrong. I�m the last person to be highly critical of lawyers and legal ethics. I've even thought about going back to law school myself. I�m simply not convinced that we can be absolutely sure that the right person is being put to death, and you can't take it back after it's been done. How often do we have a case as clear cut as Timothy McVeigh? The possibility of putting one person to death by mistake is one that I do not view as acceptable �collateral damage�. And how about the �missing paperwork�? In his arrogant search for martyrdom, Tim M. overlooked what could very well have had that particular verdict thrown out due to procedural error. Lucky for us.
What if the procedural error had been the other way, an error in favor of a person wrongly put to death?
My other big concern is that statistics show the death penalty isn�t an effective deterrent, so what�s the deal? I think that life in prison without the possibility of parole would have been a much more effective punishment for Tim M. rather than giving him exactly what he wanted by making him a martyr and ending his life for him. Not to mention that life in prison is less expensive as well, what with each capital punishment mandatory appeal costing millions of dollars. Reminds me of the old short sci-fi story about the creation of the world, where god spends six days making everything but on the seventh day isn�t completely satisfied with what he sees and says �to hell with it� �. and it was.
Aw, screw it. People will be vengeful, and the only real control I can exert over anything extends about 18 inches from myself.
Peace, out! (And ditto on 'beware the MOCs'!)
ps. aw, shit, I guess I'm famous now! I was just catching up on Christian's posts, and I've apparently arrived as a member of the Justice League of Atlantia! Hurray!
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