an eye for an eye...makes the whole world blind

Danny Rolling, convicted serial killer, was executed by lethal injection last night. The general feeling in these parts we should throw a party and dance in the streets. This...is one of the chinks in my otherwise conservative armor.

Danny Rolling killed at least 5 University of Florida students. There is speculation that he was responsible for more. The guy was a monster, and I won't debate that. I don't, however, think that gives us, as a society, the excuse to commit the same crime against him. Yes, it's financially expedient, because now the taxpayer doesn't pay to keep him alive and vegging in a prison somewhere. Yes, it sends him to the same fate he sent others to. Yes, it might even be a deterrent to others, though that's a hard one to prove. Yes, it also drags us, as a society, down to his monstrous level.

Like I said, this is one chink in my normally conservative outlook. The death penalty is a cornerstone of the conservative platform, and it isn't part of mine. I see it as a contradiction to my belief that God gave us this life we have...and who are we to willingly take it away from someone who really isn't threatening anyone. No he isn't an innocent baby, but he couldn't hurt anybody where he was, and snuffing him out isn't for us to decide. That's God's job.

I know the follow-up question is, well then, what do you propose we do with the Danny Rollings of the world? I'll admit I don't have a good answer for that. I just don't think it's murdering them.