Well here we go into another sticky wicket...
The death of one Thomas Whisenhant who died Thursday at 6:20 p.m. of very unnatural causes.
Whisenant was guilty of the rape, murder and dismemberment of a beautiful young bride in the summer of 1977. Her husband never remarried. How could he. How could anyone live a normal life with a wife and children under the weight of the knowledge that twice or three times a year their lives would be disrupted by a knock on the door and "Papers".
Reminders of the event. Subpoenas to tell the tale again, news that the execution had been put off again and then again. Then finally thirty-two years, eight-months and twenty-six days later, after the lives that were to have been lived reach their twilight, they are called to view the photographs again and watch an old man die in relative comfort and peace.
It should make you mad. It angers me on a visceral level. Not that my heart bleeds for the dead but it bleeds for the living. The three mothers of the dead women this killing spree left in Mobile. The three boyfriends and husbands. The fathers and grandfathers and good friends. Being asked to recall again and again what she was wearing when she left for work, what she ate, what were the last words she spoke to her family.
And to put a fine point on it - my heart bleeds for you and me who lost not only parts of our own soul but a great deal of our pocketbooks with the care and feeding and financial responsibility of both the prosecutors and defense of this ruthless murderer.
No, my objection to the death penalty procedure is not from my bleeding heart for the killing of a rabid dog. My objection is to the pain and suffering of the survivors. The dead are dead but the living suffer on.
I believe that a year and a day should be enough time for appeal in death penalty cases.
But the whole thing begs the question -Who profits from dragging out these cases and upon whom does the burden fall?
What has this to do with the lawmakers of Alabama?
You tell me.
The death of one Thomas Whisenhant who died Thursday at 6:20 p.m. of very unnatural causes.
Whisenant was guilty of the rape, murder and dismemberment of a beautiful young bride in the summer of 1977. Her husband never remarried. How could he. How could anyone live a normal life with a wife and children under the weight of the knowledge that twice or three times a year their lives would be disrupted by a knock on the door and "Papers".
Reminders of the event. Subpoenas to tell the tale again, news that the execution had been put off again and then again. Then finally thirty-two years, eight-months and twenty-six days later, after the lives that were to have been lived reach their twilight, they are called to view the photographs again and watch an old man die in relative comfort and peace.
It should make you mad. It angers me on a visceral level. Not that my heart bleeds for the dead but it bleeds for the living. The three mothers of the dead women this killing spree left in Mobile. The three boyfriends and husbands. The fathers and grandfathers and good friends. Being asked to recall again and again what she was wearing when she left for work, what she ate, what were the last words she spoke to her family.
And to put a fine point on it - my heart bleeds for you and me who lost not only parts of our own soul but a great deal of our pocketbooks with the care and feeding and financial responsibility of both the prosecutors and defense of this ruthless murderer.
No, my objection to the death penalty procedure is not from my bleeding heart for the killing of a rabid dog. My objection is to the pain and suffering of the survivors. The dead are dead but the living suffer on.
I believe that a year and a day should be enough time for appeal in death penalty cases.
But the whole thing begs the question -Who profits from dragging out these cases and upon whom does the burden fall?
What has this to do with the lawmakers of Alabama?
You tell me.
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