online chat (Instant Message) with co-chatter "michael"
michael: I wonder . . . does the 1000th person to be executed since 1976 get a door prize on his way into the death chamber?
vox: dont know
vox: why do you ask?
michael: oh - just looking at a bbc headline
vox: if there were, what sort of prize?
michael: oh - a lifetime subscription to People Magazine - or something equally pointless
vox: *gasp*
michael: it would just be a token.
vox: there's no point to People Magazine?
vox: but that's what i read to learn about people.
michael: oh . . . I'm sorry. I must be misinformed about its merits. forgive me.
vox: yeah....i mean, aren't you curious to know every year who the 10 sexiest people alive are?
michael: well - not really . . .but clearly I should be.
vox: well, don't start reading just on my account. read it for your personal edification....or something like that...but alas, the 1,000th person executed would have no use for such a publication methinks.
michael: very well . . . the next time I am in a hospital waiting room, I will be sure to grab the old copies of People Magazine
michael: cufflinks, then?
vox: that's if there are formal events in whichever place he ends up. right?
michael: possibly -there are many casual dress shirts that require cufflinks - I have about seven such shirts. it seems that they became popular within the last two to three years. anyway - it sickens me that so many people have been executed within 30 years
vox: well what can you expect, in a society that tolerates abortion. it's all kill, kill, kill.
michael: well - Europe abolished the death penalty quite awhile ago. even though quite a few allow abortions...
michael: though moral consistency would require one who is anti-death penalty to also oppose abortion
vox: thank you. but yes, it is disturbing. i didnt know we have reached that number
michael: neither did I, until I read about the execution of Kenneth Boyd in North Carolina
vox: and what's the status of the death row inmate who has requested clemecy from governor ahnuld?
michael: I have read nothing new -it seems to be up in the air, still.
michael: ah well
vox: arnold, the clement terminator. sounds like an oxymoron.
michael: Texas has killed 355
michael: the one on 12/13 could be California's 12th since 1976
vox: *sigh*
vox: how would you respond to those who say, "well, this is justice" and "this deters criminals"
michael: well - it's been awhile since I've seen exact figures, but the prison population has only exploded since 1976, and there is no evidence to demonstrate that the re-introduction of the death penalty has resulted in a decrease of violent crimes.
vox: so why do we do it as a state?
michael: advocates for the death penalty seem to be motivated by a desire for retribution & revenge
michael: it's a type of blood lust that victimhood almost seems to encourage. I think there are too many advocates on behalf of those related to the victims of capital crimes.
michael: anyway - I've just swallowed NyQuil - now, I must try to sleep through the night without falling into a coughing fit
michael: goodnight
vox: goodnight. perhaps you'll sleep better knowing there's one less death row inmate around.
vox: dont know
vox: why do you ask?
michael: oh - just looking at a bbc headline
vox: if there were, what sort of prize?
michael: oh - a lifetime subscription to People Magazine - or something equally pointless
vox: *gasp*
michael: it would just be a token.
vox: there's no point to People Magazine?
vox: but that's what i read to learn about people.
michael: oh . . . I'm sorry. I must be misinformed about its merits. forgive me.
vox: yeah....i mean, aren't you curious to know every year who the 10 sexiest people alive are?
michael: well - not really . . .but clearly I should be.
vox: well, don't start reading just on my account. read it for your personal edification....or something like that...but alas, the 1,000th person executed would have no use for such a publication methinks.
michael: very well . . . the next time I am in a hospital waiting room, I will be sure to grab the old copies of People Magazine
michael: cufflinks, then?
vox: that's if there are formal events in whichever place he ends up. right?
michael: possibly -there are many casual dress shirts that require cufflinks - I have about seven such shirts. it seems that they became popular within the last two to three years. anyway - it sickens me that so many people have been executed within 30 years
vox: well what can you expect, in a society that tolerates abortion. it's all kill, kill, kill.
michael: well - Europe abolished the death penalty quite awhile ago. even though quite a few allow abortions...
michael: though moral consistency would require one who is anti-death penalty to also oppose abortion
vox: thank you. but yes, it is disturbing. i didnt know we have reached that number
michael: neither did I, until I read about the execution of Kenneth Boyd in North Carolina
vox: and what's the status of the death row inmate who has requested clemecy from governor ahnuld?
michael: I have read nothing new -it seems to be up in the air, still.
michael: ah well
vox: arnold, the clement terminator. sounds like an oxymoron.
michael: Texas has killed 355
michael: the one on 12/13 could be California's 12th since 1976
vox: *sigh*
vox: how would you respond to those who say, "well, this is justice" and "this deters criminals"
michael: well - it's been awhile since I've seen exact figures, but the prison population has only exploded since 1976, and there is no evidence to demonstrate that the re-introduction of the death penalty has resulted in a decrease of violent crimes.
vox: so why do we do it as a state?
michael: advocates for the death penalty seem to be motivated by a desire for retribution & revenge
michael: it's a type of blood lust that victimhood almost seems to encourage. I think there are too many advocates on behalf of those related to the victims of capital crimes.
michael: anyway - I've just swallowed NyQuil - now, I must try to sleep through the night without falling into a coughing fit
michael: goodnight
vox: goodnight. perhaps you'll sleep better knowing there's one less death row inmate around.
posted by dixerit at 11:41 AM
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