Dirty Work and Ted Bundy

I was asked recently if I’m in favor of the death penalty.

My response was, “YES...I’m against it.”

Like that answer?

I’m against it NOT because I don’t think that some people have lost the right to live based on the things they’ve done in life—because, for some people, I believe they have.  Most certainly, I would be the first to argue that people such as Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, and Saddam Hussein, because of what they’d done in life, probably did forfeit their right to continue living.

The reason I’m against the death penalty is because, for those three people, I, personally, would have been unwilling to administer the penalty myself.  If someone is in the act of committing an atrocity, such as trying to rape my friend or hurt my Dad, I will do whatever I can to stop that person—even to the point of using lethal means, which I am more than capable of doing.  I would, though, cease any violence on my part once such a person was subdued or in custody.

The reason I’m against the death penalty is for the simple reason that I’m unwilling to kill someone who’s no longer an acute threat to me, to a loved one, to an acquaintance, or to someone I haven’t yet met.

Many have said that they supported the execution of Ted Bundy; far fewer said that they would have carried out the execution had it been up to them.  It's to those "many" that supported Mr. Bundy’s execution but were unwilling to carry out the deed that I wish to say something along the following lines:  “Are you kidding me?  Who do you think you are?  How dare you ask someone else to do your dirty work for you.”

To me, such a thing is the height of legalistic arrogance and moral self-righteousness.

I make it a point of not asking others to do for me that which I’m unwilling to do myself.  Honestly, I don’t always succeed at following through on this (being the fallible person that I am), but it's something I both value and strive consciously to live by every moment of every day.

This is a tough topic, yes, but it’s one that needs to be considered from time to time, don’t you think?

I’m very interested in any thoughts you might have on this.  Not so much on the rightness or wrongness of the death penalty, but on the bigger issue of one’s willingness in life to do one’s own dirty work.

Peace,

Bling