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Location Is Everything
Location, location, location. Location is everything! This is a tried and true principle with realtors that it is undisputed. Location has everything to do with eventual outcomes and for most of us the eventual outcome is really all that matters. Location seems to be just as important in the decisions that a criminal makes about where they will conduct their business. In these decisions, the eventual outcome can have deadly… or not….results. It would be wise for would-be serial killers to see what punishment they may face before they consider where they will commit the crime.
For instance, all but thirteen states currently have death penalty sanctions available, but you might be surprised which thirteen do not. For those of you who might be thinking that the Northern States would refrain from such punishments, you would be partially right. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine lead the way in death penalty opposition. But, before anyone lets go with a liberal pansy state tirade, how do you explain West Virginia? West Virginia is home to some of the toughest blue collar, coal mining, mountain folk that we know, yet, as a state, they oppose the death penalty. On the other side of the coin, northern states like Delaware, which even offer hanging as a choice, support the death penalty. Connecticut says absolutely yes to death penalties, but Iowa, the middle of the heartland says no way. How do you figure that one out?
The way in which states administer the death penalty is also a bit confusing. Here in Georgia “the capital of the South”, we choose the more civilized if you will means of execution with lethal injections. In New Hampshire, the mother of everything that is considered liberal, lethal injection is also available, but they will also allow hanging if injection is not available. I’m scared to ask the formula for how that decision is made. The other states who utilize the death penalty have a variety of choices for the condemned such as electrocution, lethal injection, gas chamber, hanging, and in Utah and Oklahoma they still have a firing squad available in some cases. Idaho says that they have the firing squad for those cases where lethal injections are just not practical. Once again, I won’t ask. I guess that these are for those really bad guys who literally want to go out in a blaze of glory.
For those states that practice death penalty sanctions, most are not shy about using it. We all know that Texas does everything in a big way. As you might expect, this is also apparently true with executions. In 2004, Texas led the way with 24 executions, followed by Ohio with 7, Oklahoma with 6, Virginia with 5 and North Carolina and South Carolina tied for fifth with 4 each. Also, now that our nation is categorized on every issue from the legalization dog fighting to the restructuring of the electoral college as a blue state or a red, it is also worth noting how these states look at the death penalty. For instance our country’s red states, which tend to be a bit on the conservative side, (a bit?) they also seem to maintain this sense of conservatism with capital punishment. Twenty seven out of thirty two, or 84.3 % of the red states utilize the death penalty. Of the blue states, which tend to be a bit on the liberal side, 50% also utilize the death penalty. I suppose they justify such severe actions with giving you a choice of how you will receive your punishment. However, lethal injection seems to be there punishment du’jour.
Even though some of our Euro friends think of us as barbarians, when it come to our views on the death penalty, it doesn’t seem that their taunts or hankie waving have changed our mind. I have heard that France is considering flogging as a means of punishment, but their weapon of choice apparently is a croissant.
And of course, after all of this, the big question is does it deter crime? Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. But two things are fairly certain. First, based on last year’s total executions, fifty nine people will never commit another crime. And secondly, I’ll bet somewhere toward the end, location and eventual outcome was, at least, on their mind.
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
SHall BadgeNotes@aol.com
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