Mercy is Difficult at Times.
We may have a pecking order of what kinds of crimes are the worst and what kinds of criminal is the lowest of the low. Most would agree that one who would kill a child, especially their own, is not fit to be called human but, in my book, a man who would murder his wife is right behind him.
You don't want to believe that guy did it because it is so far removed from anything you believe you would do. It was just too horrible to picture what a "man" could do to his own wife.
One is tempted to be flippant in how the man should be punished. One co-worker suggested that he be hacked apart just like he did his wife and see how many pieces they could cut him into before he died. I understand the sentiment but if he is to be executed, let's not do it in a way that would make us no better than him. (He won't be executed - - Michigan has not allowed the death penalty since it became a state.)
And then all this about him wandering around in the snow without shoes or a coat on as he hid from authorities and needing to be treated for severe frostbite after he was caught. Does he think he has a chance for an insanity plea?
One of the best arguments about insanity as a plea for murder was given by Robert Heinlein in the book Starship Troopers. He said that a man who was crazy enough to kill needed to be put down for the safety of those around him. If he was crazy then the only sign that he had been cured of his insanity is when he is incapable of living with what he did and he kills himself. If he doesn't feel compelled to kill himself for what he did, then he still isn't sane.
What this person did to his wife was not the work of a sane man, but a person who had a lot in common with a rabid dog.
May God show him mercy because right now I am having difficulty with it.
You don't want to believe that guy did it because it is so far removed from anything you believe you would do. It was just too horrible to picture what a "man" could do to his own wife.
One is tempted to be flippant in how the man should be punished. One co-worker suggested that he be hacked apart just like he did his wife and see how many pieces they could cut him into before he died. I understand the sentiment but if he is to be executed, let's not do it in a way that would make us no better than him. (He won't be executed - - Michigan has not allowed the death penalty since it became a state.)
And then all this about him wandering around in the snow without shoes or a coat on as he hid from authorities and needing to be treated for severe frostbite after he was caught. Does he think he has a chance for an insanity plea?
One of the best arguments about insanity as a plea for murder was given by Robert Heinlein in the book Starship Troopers. He said that a man who was crazy enough to kill needed to be put down for the safety of those around him. If he was crazy then the only sign that he had been cured of his insanity is when he is incapable of living with what he did and he kills himself. If he doesn't feel compelled to kill himself for what he did, then he still isn't sane.
What this person did to his wife was not the work of a sane man, but a person who had a lot in common with a rabid dog.
May God show him mercy because right now I am having difficulty with it.
posted by shoprat at 3:14 PM
8 Comments:
i dunno shoprat - - wandering around naked in the snow days AFTER the murder is not the way to establish an insanity plea! the guys a sicko for sure - but from what i've read/heard so far, he was reportedly "normal" prior to and shortly after the incident...sad thing for sure....
Shoprat, I heard his lawyer say "good people do bad things." That's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard anyone say. Good people do not commit henious crimes like this!
Did you look at that murderous bastard's eyes? They say your eyes are the mirror of your soul. If anyone can find a soul in this creep's eyes they're doing a lot better than I am. I agree with you; I'm not feeling very merciful either!
Heinlein hit the nail on the head.
My response to this is the same as I felt about the Peterson murder -- if the man has been proven guilty, he should be executed.
At the risk of sounding in some way chauvenistic or otherwise prejudiced, I feel that a man who has waxed a woman or child has forfeited his right to live in our society, and see no reason to warehouse him for the duration of a natural lifetime at the taxpayers' expense.
I don't support the death penalty in general, but emotionally, I could easily make an exception for this man. I am left feeling a lot of pain for the two girls. You know that they will eventually find out every little sick detail of how their mother was killed and dismembered by their father. It's just heart breaking. I wish there was something that we could do for them.
At least, I take some small pride in the fact that he was located in those woods and "rescued" (man, why can't the winch cable snap when you want it to!) by a Coast Guard chopper from Airstation Traverse City. Another example of whom to call for help when only the very best will do...
(Then again, maybe they should have let him freeze to death. If you withold help, is that the same as if you killed him? In a biblical sense.)
What a horrible tale.
If he is insane, it still does not change the fact he is a dangerous animal, and probably should be put down.
DM I would consider wandering around in the cold dressed like that either insane or desperate.
gayle He is evil, but he is also a good actor. His performance before it began to look like he did it was quite convincing.
The rest of you. I think he is definitly a candidate for the death penalty.
not defending the guy, but why is there such a difference of opinion when it comes to a women who has murdered her children? She's an object of sympathy, while he's the devil incarnate?
And yeah, I do believe in the death penalty - it's a very effective weapon of preventative medicine.
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