A Teachable Moment

 There's a lot to unravel here. 

The first execution by firing squad in these United States in more than fifteen years took place in South Carolina. Brad Sigmon, who had been convicted of killing his girlfriend's parents with a baseball bat was pronounced dead at 6:08 PM on Friday. 

Really dead. 

Three prison system volunteer shooters took care of their business cleanly, or at least as clean as three bullets fired into the chest of a target strapped to a chair fifteen feet away could be. Like shooting convicted murderers in a barrel. 

And this is how we teach "Thou shalt not kill." 

It should be noted that Mister Sigmon, who spent twenty-four years on death row for his crimes, selected being shot from a menu that included lethal injection and the electric chair. An interesting logistical note: The electric chair was in the same room as the firing squad, but the gurney used for lethal injections was wheeled out for the occasion. 

I find it curious that in the moments just before the state doles out its harshest punishment that suddenly the world is your oyster: "What would you like to eat? Surf and turf? Maybe a nice cannoli?" And we certainly want to make sure that when that final moment comes, it should be in as calm and businesslike as possible. Someone once noticed the inherent ridiculousness of the cotton swab used to clean the area where a lethal injection is given. You wouldn't want to get a nasty infection. Like the bullets used in the firing squad, made to break apart causing maximum damage and limiting any possible harm to bystanders. 

Thank goodness they thought of safety.

Thou shalt not kill, but if you absolutely have to in order to teach a lesson, offer a wide selection of alternatives and try not to make a mess of things. Why not just slide some arsenic into his cannoli?