Old news, I know. I wanted to make a drunken memo on this yesterday but I was too smashed/tired. Now I have to assume my own oldies. For those who don't know, Paul Powell is this fellow here. In all his condemned originality he chose to die on the electric chair this week, which brings us back to this whole debate about death penalty that us liberals love to talk about.
To his discharge, Paulie boy is shedding a new light on the argument by being entirely desearving of Smokin' Sally. Dude will go down in history as the murderer most worthy of a Darwin Award. See, Paul was sentenced to death, then his sentence was overturned due to many errors in the trial. Not happy to have his life saved and to live a comfortable life in prison for the rest of his life, Powell felt the need to brag about it in a letter to the judge. Yep, Paul bragged about killing Stacie and raping and attempting murder on her younger sister Kristie. You can find the letter in the case file here.
But the true nature of my memo doesn't entirely concern the bright waste of brain cells that was Paul Powell. While browsing the net to make sure he had been put out of commission, I found this. Off 2 Death Row. This is a mesmerizing piece of a database that our conservative friends had built up over the years. If Ann Coulter knows about this web site, she's got to be proud.
You can find on off2dr.com the extensive list of executions since 1976, the description of their crime, their last meal and last statement. It's quite the intense read. As most of them try to stuff their face as much as possible before the last moments, none of them have similar things to say. You can split them in categories:
The wrongfully accused:
Reginald Blanton
"Yes I do. I know ya'lls pain, believe me I shed plenty of tears behind Carlos. Carlos was my friend. I didn't murder him. This what is happening right now is an injustice. This doesn't solve anything. This will not bring back Carlos. Ya'll fought real hard here to prove my innocence. This is only the beginning. I love each and everyone dearly. Dre My queen. I love you. Yaws, Junie I love yall. Stay strong, continue to fight. They are fixing to pump my veins with a lethal drug the American Veterinary Association won't even allow to be used on dogs. I say I am worse off than a dog. They want to kill me for this; I am not the man that did this. Fight on. I will see ya'll again. That's all I can say."
The religion repentant:
Jason Getsy
"To Chuck and Nancy Sarafino and your loved ones, for all the pain I have caused you, it is my earnest prayer God can grant you peace. I am sorry. It is a little word, I know, but it is true. For everyone else, God is so great that he gave his only son that I may be forgiven for all my sins. Even today, I can say how blessed I am the Holy Spirit dwells in me."
The repentant that really had it coming:
Gerald Bordelon
"I’m sorry. I don’t know if that brings any closure or peace. It should have never happened, but it did and I’m sorry."
Sometimes you just have to take one for Charles Darwin...
Bobby Wayne Woods
"Bye. I'm ready."
That said, I am generally against the idea of death penalty. This is a twisted ritual and sometimes a mental torture that goes on for years and years. Most of the murderers despite having killed somebody don't deserve such a fate. Maybe they shot your father, mother, but they didn't keep them locked up for ten years, knowing that they are going to die in a weird ritualistic way. Living in fear, discomfort and deprived of any needs going beyond the survival instincts should be enough. Why sending a guy to hell when he can be surrounded with dangerous, violent, sick and twisted people on earth. Doesn't make any sense to me.
I wouldn't completely let go of the death penalty though. Sometimes, you just have to clean the gene pool. Powell and Woods are good examples. Bordelon also. There is no redeeming factor to raping and killing children. None. When the last thing a kid sees before he dies is your fat face coming...I'm sorry but you deserve to die in the slow, ritualistic fashion that death penalty is. Maybe they could do a top 5? The five most disgusting assholes have to go!
Anyway I leave you on the words of the eternal Dexter Morgan, executing giant mobster called Little Chino.
Little Chino: You kill me … what do you leave behind?
Dexter: A world without you!
