I wrote this piece in 2014. Outraged at what was called a "botched" execution, I had to describe the brutality of a system that tries to "sanitize killing another human being. There is no such thing as a "clean kill". The very act of trying to make our language adapt to that nomenclature speaks to our dehumanization as a planet,.. well, at least in some countries,..or maybe just one. The U.S. remains the only country in the Western "civilized" world that uses the retribution of capital punishment. Furthermore we cannot call ourselves Christian, and continue to use capital punishment as a tool for discouraging murder,... doesn't work, never has.
Well its 2020 now. and the madness continues, only we've added murder on the streets of America, of innocent black men, by the police. I'll write about that too. Can you say.. Ahmaud Arbery. Well, that's the latest of names to remember. But read on about what I said in 2014.
Its very interesting to me that I haven't seen nor heard anything written or spoken from religious leaders on the matter of this execution. To call it "botched" is a mis-characterization of this method of punishment. It was "botched" long before he was placed on the gurney.
Well its 2020 now. and the madness continues, only we've added murder on the streets of America, of innocent black men, by the police. I'll write about that too. Can you say.. Ahmaud Arbery. Well, that's the latest of names to remember. But read on about what I said in 2014.
Its very interesting to me that I haven't seen nor heard anything written or spoken from religious leaders on the matter of this execution. To call it "botched" is a mis-characterization of this method of punishment. It was "botched" long before he was placed on the gurney.
And as for the matter of
desiring a "Clean Kill", I think there's a bit more to be said
about that. We, as a society are "troubled" because we were
confronted by the accused. In his writhing, Clayton Lockett--- and we should
not forget his name--, made us think about what we were doing. We, as a
society, were forced to watch his suffering. We didn't like that.
Despite our vanity, we really don't like looking in mirrors. We don't like
to see our ugliness. Clayton Lockett's last act was to make us think about, and
see our ugliness as a society. He made us look in the mirror.
The "Clean
kill" we had hoped for, was to witness an accused gently falling asleep,
begin to snore, ...with that snoring becoming less pronounced over the course
of a few minutes until the accused was pronounced dead. Perhaps this would have
eased our consciences and given us the "peace" we sought for
humanely eliminating the life of another human being. This,.. is
the "Clean-Kill". Clayton Lockett's final ,yet lasting act, was
to show us that we are not humane. His departure signaled to us,
that our cruelty mirrors his. And thus, we have not ended the cycle of
human cruelty, just extended it. This is what Clayton Lockett said to us.
I did a quick
internet search this morning looking for perspectives on this issue from
"religious' leaders (usually quite opinionated). I couldn't
find anything. I looked for opinions from the lay media,... they were
everywhere. We speak on so many issues,.. except those that really
matter. ("Lord you know all things,..You know that I love you"
Do you? ... Seriously??)
I'm reminded of what Jesus could have been
saying when He talked about the "Least of These". Shouldn't we count
Clayton Lockett among The Least of These... just as we
count (or don't count, for that matter) ) those who are food
insecure we pass on the streets daily; those who are unvisited in
prison; or without health care in homeless shelters; or without decent housing
or clothing. All of us are Jesus, all of us are "The Least of
These". "As you did it unto..... You did it unto me". Just
as we continue to deny each other love .. could we be continuing the cycle
of denial of that same love to Jesus? 
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