NOT. Remember, the exchange went like this (I'm quoting myself again, apologies to the rest of you):
>--While I'm at it, should death penalty opponents publicly protest the
>execution of McVeigh?
>Of course we should. Never mind whether or not we think he deserves to die. I'd like to nudge him over a cliff, myself. But self-righteous, state-sanctioned, aren't-we-the-greatest-democracy-in-the-world murder is the worst kind there is. IMO."
Translated, that means: Down with the death penalty. The magnitude of the accused's misdeeds, and the anger and revulsion that they may arouse in some of us have no bearing on the matter.
Understand, too, that I wouldn't in fact sanction anyone quietly nudging someone else over a cliff. Though we may feel murderous at times, it seems pretty obvious killing is not an acceptable solution. But, in my book, the worst kind of sentiment that can be brought to a killing is the kind that is aroused through public sanction -- the kind that suffuses the language of those who are closing in on McVeigh.
The long and the short of it is, the State should not be granted the right to take away the life of any person -- not Caligula, not Hitler, not poor crazy T. McV.
Joanna
www.overlookhouse.com