Now here’s a conundrum for you. Convicted cop killer Manuel Valle is due to be executed on September 6th after spending 33 years on Death Row. His lawyers recently fought for a stay of execution on the grounds that keeping Valle in jail for that length of time constituted cruel and unusual punishment. Yet those who oppose the death penalty argue that life in prison is a more humane gesture.
So let me get this straight: executing a killer is cruel…and keeping a killer in jail for a long time is also cruel…and executing a killer too soon—thereby depriving him of adequate time to go through the appeals process—would be considered cruel as well.
Obviously the only way to pacify the anti-death penalty crowd would be to give Valle a soft robe and some comfy bunny slippers, park him in a recliner in front of the TV, then feed him nachos and ice cream sundaes while bikini models fan him with palm fronds. And those folks wonder why no one takes them seriously…
So let me get this straight: executing a killer is cruel…and keeping a killer in jail for a long time is also cruel…and executing a killer too soon—thereby depriving him of adequate time to go through the appeals process—would be considered cruel as well.
Obviously the only way to pacify the anti-death penalty crowd would be to give Valle a soft robe and some comfy bunny slippers, park him in a recliner in front of the TV, then feed him nachos and ice cream sundaes while bikini models fan him with palm fronds. And those folks wonder why no one takes them seriously…
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