Non-Sequitur of the Day

Wow, three posts in one day. . . I think it's a record. ;)

I couldn't help posting again, however, after I read this article. It's not that being on death row is funny, because it's not; it's just funny that these inmates in Connecticut see a hunger strike as a way to accomplish something. The weirdest part is, they're actually being taken seriously by some people.

Okay, maybe it's just me, but let's review for a moment: Man commits serious, inhumane crime: first degree murder (probably more than once, since that's what it takes to get on death row these days). Man has trial, man is found guilty, man ends up on death row. Eventual execution is certain (from an academic standpoint, anyway). In the meantime, man lives in jail cell. Man is kept in "solitary confinement" for 24 hours a day. Man gets lonely. Man listens to propaganda of left-wing extremist liberal special interest group. Man announces hunger strike until he is allowed to "socialize" with other death row criminals while in jail.

Just one question: he's condemned to death already; if he chooses to end his life early via starvation, are we supposed to be worried enough about it to listen to his demands? The reasoning seems rather absurd: "While I'm waiting to be executed, you better make my time in jail enjoyable or I'm going to starve myself to death."

These guys got themselves in the predicament they're in. They aren't the hapless victims of some cruel and barbaric government, sentenced to die in a concentration camp or be tortured in a repeat of the Spanish Inquisition. If you've ruthlessly and brutally murdered five or six people, I'd say you're getting off pretty easy with free room and board for the rest of your life--even if it does come with a set of bars and your own private security guards. If you don't like it, you should have thought about the consequences before you committed the crime.

One more question: what kind of special interest group devotes itself to bettering the jail lives of death row inmates, anyway? Talk about a "noble calling". . . Is there really no more worthy banner they could take up in the name of justice and equality?

[Lest you label me a vicious right-wing radical who hates everybody and especially gays and criminals, let me clarify: I am not in favor of beating or torturing death row inmates, nor do I rub my hands together and chuckle with glee at the thought of them being put to death. I do believe that crimes deserve punishment, and I believe solitary confinement and yes, execution, are the punishment these inmates have earned. It is sad they must die. It is sadder they have caused innocent others to die first.]