I confess that I was actually watching MSNBC the other night.  They had a program on about the California penal system that caught my attention.  There were two things that have stuck with me.  The first is that there are over 500 people on death row, and the second is that how much it costs to house and feed a criminal.

Ron White, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour guy, was talking about Texas and the death row there having an express lane.  I think that is a GREAT idea.  There are some people in our society, who have no interest in being 'rehabilitated' and if released from prison, will simply rob, rape and kill again.  Once guilt has been established, appeals should take place within MONTHS, not years and then they should be escorted quickly to their eternal dirt nap.

One of the death row inmates on the MSNBC program was completely unapologetic about killing his first victim and actually described the plotting of and murder of another inmate.  His guilt is not in doubt, so why is this guy continuing to turn oxygen into carbon dioxide and food into waste on my dime? 

A recent case here in Georgia adds credence to this argument.  A drifter has been sent away for life for the recent murder of a young woman and is the prime suspect in several other murders.  This guy needs to die.  There is no doubt about his guilt and as a tax payer, I'm not interested in preserving his sorry life any further. 

Bring back the hangman, or the firing squad.  Fire up the needle, gas chamber or electric chair and lets rid our society of these people.  None of us would be comfortable if they moved in down the street from us, even if they found religion in prison.   It is an absolute crime against society that "Life without the possibility of parole" is ever offered to a criminal.  If we are willing to put them away for the rest of their natural lives, to the tune of somewhere between 25 and 100 thousand dollars per year, why don't we as a responsible society just cut our losses and execute these criminals.

I've heard it said that the death penalty is no longer a deterrent to crime.  My take on the reason is, that it is not used often enough and quick enough.  Imagine from the time that a criminal in death penalty case is convicted until their death, only 6 months to 1 year have elapsed, instead of the more typical 10-20 years.  Imagine the savings.  Imagine that some wannabe criminal actually remembers this when considering their next crime.  Unlikely I grant you, but possible.

Now, to those who will try to convince me otherwise, don't waste your time bringing up statistics about how inmate X served N number of years on death row before being freed by DNA evidence.  I get it.  I'm not talking about those guys.  I'm talking about the really hardened criminals where there is ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT about their guilt.  Send them along.  Maybe they can find redemption in the next life.  They knew the rules here and chose to break them.  Sorry, you're out.  ZAP!  NEXT!

Somewhere down deep in my heart I have a glimmer of hope for the non-violent "three strikes and your out crew", but it's just that, a glimmer.   I'm kind of divided on the whole issue.  Seems a shame though that we have to feed and house these bozo's too.  Doesn't Darwin have a theory about survival of the fittest?  If you are too stupid to not have gotten the message after two tries and continue in your criminal ways, maybe you should be executed for just being too stupid.   If you can't get out of prison after three strikes, why bother keeping you there?  Why should I as a taxpayer continue to pay for your stupid mistakes by housing, feeding and giving you prison health care?  Sorry, you're out.  ZAP!  NEXT!

There are lots of reasons I can think of to eliminate this human debris from our law abiding society and a scant few to actually keep them around.  I have yet to hear a compelling, non emotional argument to the contrary.  Even in our enlightened Judaeo-Christian society, mercy (Life w/o parole) cannot rob justice (execution) for the truly hardened.  Executing criminals ... It's the right thing to do.