Firing Squad

Those who know me well enough know that I am a long-time opponent of the death penalty. I am unequivocal in that stance, one of only a few things I hold as absolute in my world view. I will not outline my myriad reasons herein, but the most fundamental - the argument that first swayed me - is the most logical. It is simply illogical for a civilized people to punish murder with murder and expect that this will change things. If anything, I argue, it somehow justifies the act of the condemned, showing that not all murder is bad. I disagree with the premise, and therefore will not and cannot condone executions.

This morning, I read about a death row inmate who has opted for a firing squad. It is hard for me to imagine that we can still allow this form of execution in the 21st century in the U.S. If shooting someone and killing them is not cruel and unusual, then what is? We have scores of people on death row for doing just that - shooting people and killing them. I'm not arguing that other forms of execution are acceptable, but rather I am arguing that the 2 states that still allow this to happen, OK and UT, are clearly outside of the boundaries of what little decency and rationality might exist in this barbaric practice.

The thought of a bullet ripping through the flesh of any man, woman, or child should make your skin crawl. I'm a realist; I know that we do these things in times of war and in self-defense all the time, and while I don't advocate these either, I at least understand how those happen. I'm not accusing those who have had to take human life in the line of duty of being less virtuous; not at all. But the calculated, cold, and deliberate act of shooting someone simply does not make sense to me.

ADDENDUM:
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/06/a_decade_too_late_dna_test_okd.html