When murders and shootings first invaded our traditionally peaceful existence, we objected, and then, because the savage murders and indiscriminate shootings continued, became mentally inured.
But every now and then, we are jolted out of our indifference because of some particularly heinous crime, and then, we rebel.
“Every now and then” is now. In the last three weeks, citizens have renewed their cries against violent crime, which is to say, indiscriminate, senseless and compassionless shootings.
So now, as happens at this time, the topic of public executions arises. And the same foolish discussions take place …that executing murderers accomplish nothing, because the murders continue anyhow … that the records show that sometimes, the wrong man is executed, and so on and so forth.
First off, I’m talking about Belize, not the USA or any other “First-World” country with millions, or hundreds of millions of citizens. No evidence, as far as I know, has been offered by anyone in this tiny country, as proof that someone found guilty of murder has in fact, been innocent.
Listen, even if he didn’t commit that particular murder, he has murdered, or at least, tried to murder someone before, and escaped detection. When police look for a murder suspect, why don’t they come to your house, or mine? It is because they know that we are not in that line of business, that we are not criminals, or murderers.
You don’t even have to ask the police; ask the neighborhood residents, and they will tell you who the drug dealers and gunmen are, and that’s a fact.
So, in Belize, who gets convicted of murder is 99.999% the right man. To hell with the .001 percent – if he didn’t do it, he tried, and failed in some past attempt. Now ain’t that the truth.
Now if the government was serious about hanging and passed a law that no murder case was to drag on for more than perhaps three or four months no matter what, then the opponents of hanging would sing a different tune. I consider it asinine that we actually have a Privy Council to decide our own affairs. Does the USA send its cases to another country to decide whether the criminals should be put to death? Does Britain send its cases to another country for a foreign decision on its domestic cases? Hell no. Why should we, a sovereign and independent nation, then, send our cases to be decided by a foreign power?
So, exhaust all our appeals court, then immediately hang the SOBs behind the courthouse. If would-be murderers see their colleagues being quickly hanged before their eyes, you can bet that they would think twice before trying to murder anyone.
But if there is no such deterrent, that they know that they can spend five years or more appealing their sentence, confident that the government does not have the political will to hang, then where is the restraint for murder?
Hang every day if we have to, and see just how brave these “don’t-give-a-damn” murderers and gunmen would be when they see a corpse swinging by a rope in their faces.
We haven’t tried that yet, have we?