In the year 1865, amidst the dry heat of a territorial Arizona, Dolores Moore was executed for killing her husband. She was the first documented execution in the state.
Growing up in a part of the world where "Proof of Life" is a part of adult conversations and instructions on what to do if strangers approach you are common, one would think I could be more cavalier about this.
I can't.
When Squink and I heard on the radio, while driving home, about the prolonged execution of Joseph Wood. My first thought was; "I killed a man today". As a resident on this state, that is what happened.
I sat at red and green lights on the route home, trying to make sense of the huge responsibility that having a death penalty means. The two people he killed were at the forefront of my thoughts, and this all swirled into one huge confusing mind meld.
As I was trying to see if I had any real and concrete resolution (a personal one that is) I was fielding questions from Squink about what had happened and why he took so long to die.
I knew nothing about this case, and just looked at a little bit of what is available online so I could feel like I have done enough research to feel comfortable enough to post this entry.
The truth is I don't have any answers.
Death is very much a part of being human, and death takes many forms and frankly most of them are not pretty... and I just don't know how I feel about the death penalty... I just know that I am a little sad at the notion that yesterday I, and all my fellow Arizona residents, took the life of someone and I don't know that it made us any better as a community in the long run.
There is a huge dark side to the complete context of civil service.
1 comment:
It offends me that we have given the state permission to kill its citizens. On the other hand, part of the double edged sword, so to speak, why shoul we waste precious resources on such a man as he. There is no answer
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