"But what then is capital punishment but the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal's deed, however calculated it may be, can be compared? For there to be equivalence, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private life."
—Albert Camus, "Reflections on the Guillotine"
UPDATE: While the execution of Troy Davis has been temporarily postponed, we cats note that the execution of a man convicted of the James Byrd dragging death in Texas has taken place. We take no joy or sense of justice from this. No matter what their instigation, perpetration or victim, capital crimes are heinous. But our system of justice is not about revenge. We just wonder why the media haven't paid as much attention to the Lawrence Brewer execution as to the pending Troy Davis one. Interesting, yes?
UPDATE #2: One of our more cynical, sick-humored Democratic friends has weighed in on the Davis-Brewer situation. "So the black guy gets saved and the white guy gets killed. Typical Obama-America justice!" We cats laughed — but our amusement is tempered by the sure knowledge that the Freepers, in their little corner of online paranoia and hate, are saying exactly that.
P.S. Isn't this photo of Camus sexy?
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