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REALLY?

 

Its been a while since my last message.  Far be it for me to stir up controversy, speak my mind or voice my opinion (yeah right).  But I can't stand it anymore.  So here is your warning.  If you are easily offended, stop reading right now.  Shut down your Ipad, computer, phone, tablet, whatever you are using, stop now.  Find something else to do.  Close your eyes.  You have been duly warned.  I will even give you extra periods and spaces to give you plenty of time to stop.................................................................................................................................................

 

 

 

 

I am a white male, Christian, heterosexual, American who loves the God I worship, I love my country, The United States of America, I love my flag, I love my family, I love my guns.  I am a law abiding legal citizen of this country, a patriot.  I pay my taxes, I vote.

I told you, its pretty bad isn't it?  With all that said, I am sure I have offended at least three people somewhere in the world.   So you know what that means.  There will be at least 8 new laws enacted to keep me from ever saying that again.  There will be 17 new court rulings deciding how those three people will be compensated for my terrible outburst and I am sure there will be at least 4 presidential declarations of how this should never have happened.

Now, here is the meat (sorry but I probably just offended a vegetarian) of my rant.  I heard the most ridiculous thing on the news this morning.  This just goes to the frustration that I am sure is felt everywhere by law enforcement, their families, victims and their families.  Why it seems to be harder and harder to do this job.

The United States Supreme Court has ordered a stay of execution for a convicted killer.  Why?  Because they won't tell him what drug they are going to use to put him to death.  REALLY?  What difference does it make?  They are now going to review his case.  REALLY?  What have they been doing for probably the last 20 years he has been sitting in prision?  I know, we have been paying for his life style, yes you and I, the tax payer.  They say it might cause him pain.  REALLY?

Another execution is also on hold in Oklahoma.  Why?  Because they "botched" the one right before it and caused cruel and unusual punishment on the person that was sentenced to die.  REALLY?  Whatever happened, it had the effect is was supposed to have.  Now they won't do another because it could cause pain and suffering for that person.  REALLY?

What about the cruel and unusual punishment for the victim's and their families?  What about the pain and suffering felt by the victims, their families, their friends?  Who thought about that?  Do you think the person convicted of that crime ever gave it a second thought?  How about the person who kidnaps small children, locks them in a basement for years, sexually abuses them, and possibly kills them?  Do you think that person gave it a second thought?

Everyone deserves to go through the court process.  It's constitutionally protected.  While ours is not perfect, it is the best in the world.  Safeguards are put in place to make it work.  Still it doesn't work every time.  Some people do deserve a second chance, sometimes maybe a third, but 10 or 15 chances?  You laugh, but my office has arrested intoxicated drivers with more than 10 previous arrests.  REALLY?

It is so frustrating to law enforcement to see this happen every day.  I can't even imagine the frustration to victims and their families.  Why does there seem to be more and more crime?  Yes, drugs are a primary reason but I believe that as much as it is drugs, it is also the fact that there is no fear of the law.  Yes, I said fear.  Why stop what you are doing if there is no punishment?  I am not blaming one person, institution or organization.  It's much more than that.  It's us.  We don't want to offend someone.  We don't want to speak our mind.  We let those three people in the world control us.

Not so many years ago, stealing cattle was a crime punishable by death.  You were taking someone's livelihood, their living, their life if you took their cattle, their horses, their livestock.  You were given the process, taken to court, judged by a jury of your peers and then if found guilty, hung.  End of story.

If someone is seen murdering someone with a gun, the police arrive and he is still holding the gun, has blood all over him, standing over the person he just shot and admits to the police that he just shot that person and killed him because he stole his dope, does that person really deserve 20 years of appeals before his sentence is carried out?  REALLY?

I don't know about you but that would keep me from even the thought of stealing cattle.  Now, its tied up in court for years and the victims will likely never get any restitution, the criminal will likely never see the inside of a jail cell.  Why stop?

Sunday hangings were public events.  People went to church, after church they came to the courthouse, the sentence was served, people had lunch.  Everyone saw what happened.  They knew there was reckoning for their deeds.  It was a way of life.  Yes, even here in Lawrence County.  Maybe we should bring back public hangings.  I'll buy lunch.  There are those who will argue that the death penalty still isn't a deterrent of crime.  I challenge you to find someone who has been executed that has committed another crime.

Enough of my rant.  I just wanted to give you one law enforcement officers perspective of the frustrations that we also face on a daily basis.  No, I am not racist.  I am not a terrorist.  I am not crazy.  I am a compassionate person.  REALLY.