Do you believe in capital punishment? Would you be willing to execute a man sentenced to death by the courts if you were selected by lot to do so and he would go free if you refused? Assume you know no details of the trial.
I suppose I do believe in capital punishment. What I am opposed to is the years of time that criminals spend on death row on the taxpayer's dime. I say we should go back to the days when a man was convicted of the crime, sentenced to death, then hanged on the courthouse lawn. As far as my own willingness to administer the lethal injection, I'm not sure that I'm qualified for such a thing. When I was in meds training at the Baptist Home, I practiced giving insulin shots to an orange, but that hardly makes me a likely candidate to put someone to death. And I see that the same way I see eating meat. I'm okay knowing that my steak came from a cow, but that doesn't mean I want to butcher the thing just to get my New York strip. I'm okay knowing that murderers are eventually put to death for the crimes they committed, but that doesn't mean I want to flip the switch on the chair. I guess my guy would have to go free. Maybe I'd luck out and it'd be John Coffey. Like the drink, only spelled different.
*Question of the Week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.
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