TEXAS ANNOUNCES "WORLD WAR I THEME" FOR UPCOMING EXECUTIONS

TEXAS TALK

By : Mr. Brad Livingston, Executive Director, Texas State Criminal Justice Agency (Austin)(2005-present); Former Chief Financial Officer, Texas Board of Criminal Justice (1997-2001); Former Deputy Director, Financial Services Division, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (1997-2001); Accounting Expert; Christian.

Here in Texas, capital punishment works. We are not afraid to swiftly execute offenders. Our prosecutors, judges, legislators and administrators are all on the same page on this: We don't have mercy for killers, rapists, drug dealers and thugs. So we get them out of the community in the surest possible way we can: By lethally injecting them after a couple pointless appeals.

Our State criminal justice system is the best in the Nation because Texans support it. Criminal justice doesn't work without strong backing from the community. Thankfully, our system is both effective and efficient because every Texan knows where criminals belong: Strapped to a gurney in the Huntsville death house. Here at the Corrections Department, we think like Texans. We don't forgive and forget. We inject first and ask questions later.

Capital punishment works in Texas because it brings our community together. Texans love a good execution. Although we do not hang people in public like we did in the old days, we nonetheless widely publicize our executions "21st century style." Texans can stay current with day-to-day executions by logging into our "Executed Offender" database. See http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm. That site provides accurate information about offenders who got their judicially-prescribed dose of potassium bromide. It shows their faces. It describes their crimes. It tells you what they said before they bought the farm. It even tells you what they had for dinner before taking a mosey down the death chamber. Basically, if you want to hear about the latest about executed offenders in Texas, just click on the link and you will get the whole story. Enjoy!

We are committed to bringing Texans a satisfactory capital punishment experience that is both invigorating and entertaining. At the same time, we must note that executions are not cheap. Although the State provides executions free of charge, our capital punishment delivery system has historically operated at a loss. We recently made that fact known to Texans in a local television broadcast. To our great relief, we found that millions of Texans were willing to pay a price to watch a good execution. We even received substantial voluntary donations from private citizens. Those donations defrayed our costs. As Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, I can assure you that Texas will always give you the executions you expect and deserve.

We are thankful that Texans support our criminal justice system. We also know that many Texans wish to directly participate in future executions. We have received many letters from victims' family members requesting the opportunity to push the button that releases chemicals into the offender's bloodstream. Other citizens have requested introducing some new execution methods "just to spruce things up a little bit." Still others have petitioned for larger spectator venues to accommodate all the people who want to see an offender die.

In response to these queries--and to reward Texans for their support--we have decided implement some positive changes to our capital punishment delivery system. Effective immediately, we hereby designate 2010 the year for "World War I Fun" in the Texas criminal justice department. Until further notice, we will execute offenders with vintage World War I weapons. Additionally, we will allow victims' families to directly participate in the execution for a small administrative fee. We believe that this program will bring Texans even closer together, while at the same time teaching a valuable history lesson about World War I. It will give families the chance to take personal revenge on offenders, deter future misconduct and raise funds for the State. In sum, we believe that "World War I Fun" is a "win-win" for both Texans and Texas.

But we need your support to make "World War I Fun" work. To that end, we would like to introduce the various new execution methods available under our new program. If you are a crime victim or a crime victim's relative, carefully review this information to determine which method best suits your needs and your budget. Although we wish we could allow every crime victim to choose the most expensive execution method, we must always observe budgetary constraints. For that reason, we list execution methods in ascending order of price.

1. TRENCH SHOVEL - $50 per execution

Get back at your girlfriend's murderer with this trusty old steel spade. For just $50, you can grab this vintage 1917 shovel and smash that convicted varmint to your heart's content. Notice that the shovel has a sharp edge as well as a flat surface. It also has a good heft for crushing skulls or severing arteries. At just $50 per execution, the trench shovel is an economically wise--yet emotionally fulfilling--way to exact justice on a real Texas bandit. If you wish to bring a friend (or parent) to the execution, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice will provide another shovel for just $25 more--that's a 50% discount! With two shovels, you and your friend can really give the convict a walloping. After you've finished clubbing the criminal to a bloody pulp, corrections officers will add insult to his injury by using the brain-smattered shovels to dig a grave for him out back.

2. BAYONET - $100 per execution

Cut right to the chase with a REAL World War I bayonet! You'll make a slicing impression with this genuine German antique. Your mother's killer will be trembling in his socks when he sees you coming at him with a foot-long silver blade. He'll wish he never raped and shot your mom as you thrust the shiny bayonet into his abdomen. Imagine how scared he'll be as he sits there helplessly strapped to a chair as you slash and stab him to death. You can do anything you want with the bayonet. You can scalp the criminal. You can stab him through the top of the head. You can saw off his fingers. Hell, you could even cut open his stomach and stuff his kidneys in his mouth while he's still alive. Go ahead! Knock yourself out! Do justice! We'll even throw in rubber gloves and a wetsuit for just $50 more so you won't get your nice clothes all bloody.

3. SPRINGFIELD MODEL 1903 - $250 per execution (plus additional ammunition beyond 5 rounds)

If you prefer firearms to close-quarters weapons, then the Springfield M1903 is the choice for you. Don't get your hands dirty. Be an old-fashioned Texas marksman. Line the child rapist up in your sights, get the range right and BLAM! There goes the back of his head. As an added bonus, the Texas Criminal Justice Department will provide an ENTIRE CLIP of ammunition for your amusement; it is our way of saying "thank you" for your support. That means you can take your time with your criminal. You can fire your first shot through his shinbone. Then the next through his hand. You know, whatever you like. Give him a nice gutshot and ask him how he likes it now. But if you do not finish the convict off in five rounds, you must pay $10 per additional bullet. Despite the cost, we are certain that all you Texas sharpshooters out there will really appreciate going round for round on a scumbag with a Springfield. Go for it! Ready, aim, fire!

4. MUSTARD GAS - $500 per execution

Maybe you liked chemistry in high school. Maybe you'd rather use science on a punk than a gun or a knife. If this fits your bill, then Texas Corrections has the solution for you: A genuine mustard gas grenade. For just $500, you can REALLY make a bank robber squirm by tossing some lethal chemicals directly into an airtight container. You can watch him squeal like a pig as he tries to hold his breath. But you'll just laugh, because the mustard gas will burn away his skin at the same time. That'll teach him to touch little girls at the playground! At the same time, you'll learn why most countries outlawed mustard gas after 1918! For the more adventurous citizens out there, mustard gas is the way to go. In Texas, we don't just shoot 'em, beat 'em or stab 'em. We gas 'em, too!

5. MAXIM MACHINE GUN - $1000 per execution (includes 250-round ammunition belt)

If you're a marksman but prefer rapid fire, don't settle for a single shot. Get behind this VINTAGE 1911 Maxim machine gun and UNLOAD into a child molester with a full belt. Learn how the machine gun changed the face of warfare as you demonstrate what 250 30-caliber bullets can do to a Mexican gangster tied to a chair. Have fun with it! Hold down that trigger and roar! Let the machine gun do the talking. Cut the bastard in half if you want to. We regret that the Maxim costs more than other execution methods. It is difficult to find working models that do not jam. Additionally, it takes time to set up the Maxim and calibrate it; this thing weighs a lot. Your $1000 contribution helps defray all these costs. And believe us: Once you squeeze the trigger on this baby, you'll say: "It was worth every dollar!" So what are you waiting for? RAT-A-TAT-TAT, bitches!

NOTE: If the Maxim jams at any time before you complete your 250-round belt, we pledge to refund your $1000 contribution pro rata ($4.00 per round) depending on how many rounds remain in the belt. We also pledge to lend you a Corrections Officer's service pistol to administer a final shot to the offender free of charge.

6. FLAMETHROWER - $2000 per execution

It's time for an old-time Texas barbecue! Take fiery revenge on your wife's lover by toasting him like a stuck hog. For just $2000, we will give you an ORIGINAL 1918 flamethrower with a full tank. Don't mess around with shovels or pistols. Burn the sumbitch alive! Light up the starter, twist on the fuel flow and reduce him into a pile of ashes. Don't worry: He won't turn into ashes before he struggles in vain to escape the flames. Torch him! If you really want to make him regret what he did, don't hose him down right away. Shoot a fireball above his head first. Make him sweat. Then shoot another burst to his left, then his right. Finally, give him just a little scorch. Make him live for a while with peeled-off skin. See how he likes being a victim now. See how fun flamethrowers can be? Nothing says "Ouch" like a full-body burn. And you can only give a full-body burn with a flamethrower. So get in there and start cookin'!

7. BIG BERTHA - $5000 per execution

For Texans who have some money to spare, why not blast a criminal to smithereens? Chances are the offender changed your life forever. Chances are he stole something from you that you can never replace. You probably want to make his life as empty as yours, don't you? If this is the way you feel, BLOW HIM AWAY WITH A BIG BERTHA ARTILLERY GUN! When you pull the firing cord on this baby, there won't be anything left of the man who ruined your life. There won't be anything to bury. Nobody--and no body part--walks away from a 16-inch, 2100-pound high explosive direct hit. When you really just can't stand criminals, nothing says "I hate you" more than landing a Big Bertha shell on his head. For just $5000 (credit available), the Texas Corrections Department will set up a secure firing range, as well as the VINTAGE 1908 "Big Bertha" artillery gun. It will load the weapon, place the offender downrange and allow you to say "FIRE!" before pulling the firing cord. Then, via closed-circuit television, you can watch in slow-motion as the shell falls on the offender. One moment he is there. The next moment he is gone. We will even give you a complimentary DVD recording so you can watch the moment as often as you like for the rest of your life.

In closing, I would like to personally thank Texas for its commitment to criminal justice. Here at the Department of Criminal Justice, I can assure you that we will continue to make executions accessible to the public in a way that is both emotionally satisfying and economically sensible.

Thanks again for your support.

RETHINKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT : LET'S JUST BLOW THEM UP

CONSIDERED OPINION

By : Mr. Henry B. Henker, Esq., Legal Counsel to the Office of the Prosecutor, Austin, Texas (2006- present); Former Commercial Litigator, Henker, Haudegen & Daggett, LLP, a Fortune 250 Law Firm Specializing in Complex Financing Transactions (1994-2006); Contributing Author, Humanity Weekly (1987-present); Charter Donation Manager, UNICEF (1986-1997); Annual Keynote Speaker, The Dignity Association of Eastern Texas (1990-2003); Christian; Humanitarian; Married; Republican.

Capital punishment evokes strong emotions in America. Many Americans believe that States should not execute convicted criminals. Others believe that dangerous felons deserve to die for certain outrageous offenses. Still others believe that capital punishment should be applied on a wider basis against all kinds of criminals, from credit card scammers to double parkers. But no matter where we stand on the issue, capital punishment requires us to grapple with momentous issues involving State power, individual rights, liberty, dignity and history.

No one can really debate that the State has power over life and death. Western law functions on the premise that the sovereign decides who lives and who dies. When the American colonies broke from England in 1776, that sovereign power descended to the States. The States, in turn, yielded some of that power to the new Federal government. Still, the State's power to allow life and proclaim death remained intact. States executed people in 1776 and they execute people today. No one can really contend that the sovereign right to kill lawbreakers is "new." In fact, it is as about traditional a power as you can find in our system. Even our Constitution says that both the States and the Federal government have the power to "deprive life" as long as they afford Due Process of law. See, e.g, U.S. Const. Amendments V; XIV § 1.

Nonetheless, it is silly to think we have not changed as a people since 1776. We have electricity and cars now. We have the internet and movie theaters. We have even changed the way we think about core issues in our democracy. For instance, we allow women to vote now. We freed the slaves in 1863 and we enacted Civil Rights laws in 1964. These things would have been unheard-of in our forefathers' time. Simply put, our society is constantly evolving. In that light, it is only natural that we have begun to think differently about capital punishment, too.

At the outset, we must remember that Americans like to punish criminals. When a criminal commits a shocking offense against public sensibilities, we like to see him suffer. How else would we affirm our commitment to law if we did not harshly punish those who break it? How else would we express our common morality and decency if we did not harshly punish those who act immorally and indecently? Additionally, criminal punishment is revenge, and revenge is natural. When some vagrant kills our spouse, it is only natural to want to kill him, too. In this sense, capital punishment both upholds the law and quenches our natural thirst for revenge. Thankfully, killing criminals also prevents them from killing again. And it sends a message to would-be killers that they, too, will die if they try anything cute.

Still, we respect human dignity in America, too. In the past, we used to hang criminals by the neck until dead. In 1676, our English forebears even disemboweled a traitor alive then carved him up in Rhode Island. Until the 19th Century, we even publicly displayed executed criminals until the crows picked them clean. For better or worse, we decided as a society that such execution methods expressed insufficient respect for the criminal's dignity. Although these methods legitimately fulfilled the State's right to punish criminals, we decided that we were too humane to subject our fellow citizens to such horrible pain before death.

As Americans, we believe in dignity and humanity. Although we have no tolerance for criminals, we are progressive people. When we execute people today, we ensure that we use only the most humane methods possible. Lethal injection represents our society's balance between respect for law and respect for a criminal's dignity. In theory, lethal injection simply extinguishes life without inflicting additional pain or terror on the criminal. Once the chemicals flow into the criminal's body, he simply loses consciousness and justice is done.

For decades now, our society has largely accepted lethal injection. Many Americans are comfortable in the knowledge that lethal injection both adequately punishes lawbreakers while maintaining their dignity and ensuring our own humanity. After all, we do not butcher people anymore; we simply "put them to sleep," just like unwanted animals. This is humane. True, it does not make for a very satisfying spectacle. But it adequately strikes a balance between law enforcement and individual dignity.

Or so it seems. Recent research suggests that lethal injection may not be as dignified or humane as we once believed. After all, current protocols for lethal injection involve three discrete drugs: One sedates the criminal, the second paralyzes him and the third terminates heart and pulmonary function. Death does not occur until the third dose. We cannot know whether the prisoner suffers while tranquilized or paralyzed; after all, the paralytic agent renders it impossible for him to speak or move. It is entirely conceivable that he is writhing in horrible agony before paramedics administer the final dose. Furthermore, there are many documented cases in which death does not occur for more than two hours after the initial dose. There are even more cases in which paramedics cannot locate suitable veins for intravenous linkage. Sometimes the intravenous connections are faulty, causing corrosive chemicals to flow under the prisoner's skin, prolonging the procedure. That, in turn, prolongs the agony and anxiety. Put simply, lethal injection may not be as humane and dignified as we like to believe.

But there is a solution to these problems. As a society, we can reaffirm our commitment to law and dignity by simply blowing up convicted criminals with explosives.

Explosives would solve many of the nagging problems associated with lethal injection. By strapping four pounds of C4 plastic explosive to a convicted criminal, we can assure a quick and relatively painless death. Once detonated, the explosives will literally tear the offender apart in a heartbeat. Unlike lethal injection, it will not take hours for the offender to die. In one instant, the prisoner gets blown to pieces: There he is; there he goes. Done. That resolves the deeply problematic issues surrounding unnecessary pain and suffering in the lethal injection procedure. I mean, it can't really hurt to get vaporized, can it? You don't really have to time to reflect on it. It's just: BAM! Game Over. In my view, that reflects admirable concern for the prisoner's dignity and humanity: It is humane to blow people up.

Explosive executions offer many advantages over lethal injection and other methods. There is no way to botch an explosive execution. No one can survive four pounds of C4. And if the detonator fails, nothing happens. A technician can easily replace the detonator and get on with the show. This eliminates the troublesome medical issues relating to lethal injection. After all, doctors would be best suited to ensure that a person dies from lethal injection. Yet doctors' Hippocratic oath prevents them from participating in executions. This increases the likelihood of a botched execution. With explosive executions, however, you don't need doctors. You just need a guy to press a button. That is not very technical, and it certainly does not require 10 years of medical school to get it right. Even a high-school dropout can push a button. Hell, even a dog can.

Despite these advantages, there are some drawbacks to explosive executions. For one, they are messy. No one likes clean-up. Blowing up a person scatters shredded clothing, intestines, bone fragments, burned hair, eyeballs, fingers and charred kneecaps all over the place. Additionally, it scalds the room and deposits blood-crusted soot over a considerable radius. It takes time to clean up such a mess; plus it smells unpleasant. Not only that, but it also can be difficult to assemble the prisoner's remains for burial. It is much easier to bury a prisoner executed by lethal injection. You just unstrap him from the gurney and throw him in a pine box. But not so for a criminal executed by explosives. You need to spend twelve hours scouring through wreckage for burned pieces. That's neither fun nor dignified.

Explosive executions also require different witness accommodations than those appropriate for lethal injections. It would be both impracticable and dangerous to allow witnesses to watch an explosive execution from the room next door. To effectively and safely blow up a criminal, witnesses would have to watch remotely, perhaps by closed-circuit television. Additionally, the execution chamber would have to be significantly larger than chambers used to conduct lethal injections. Detonating explosives requires space; and many prisons do not have much extra space on hand. In that light, States would have to either build large new exploding chambers or conduct explosive executions outdoors. The first alternative would be quite expensive. The second would be somehow inappropriate. And both would deny witnesses the chance to get close to the execution scene. For better or worse, witnesses traditionally enjoy looking their tormentors in the eye before they die. That will not be possible in explosive executions.

We acknowledge these drawbacks to explosive executions. On balance, however, we conclude that explosives reflect a much better way to execute criminals than lethal injection. Although it will cost money to construct new exploding chambers, we believe it will prove a valuable investment given their ultimate benefits. And although witnesses have an interest in watching criminals suffer up close, we must remember that capital punishment is about the prisoner and the State: Witnesses are secondary. In a word, explosive executions fulfill both the prisoner's interest in a quick, painless death and the State's interest in punishing crime. Blowing criminals up is simply the most efficacious manner currently available. The fact that explosive executions are dignified and humane only increases their appeal for State governments nationwide.

We also acknowledge that victims and their families have an interest in securing justice for their pain. We understand that victims and their families want to see their tormentors suffer in the same way they suffered. We understand that victims and their families might worry that blowing up a criminal might be "going too easy" on them. After all, if a murderer slowly flayed a child to death with a scalpel, it might seem unfair to reward him with an instantaneous, explosive end.

We know how much victims matter. But we suggest that blowing up a criminal is quite satisfying, even if it is quick. True, victims and their families will have to watch the criminal explode by television. But it is amazing what modern-day camera techniques can show. Victims and their families not only get to hear the big BANG of the initial blast, but will also be able to watch slow motion instant replays of the criminal exploding from various angles. They will also receive complimentary Blu-Ray discs featuring all footage associated with the execution, including commentary, production notes and a musical score.

Considering these advantages, we believe that explosive executions will please victims and their families, despite their limited duration. On the whole, then, explosive executions will please everyone: The State, the victims and the prisoner.

It is an easy choice. We must start blowing up criminals immediately.

THE LAW HAS NO POWER OVER SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT CARE ABOUT HIS BODY

AN ESSAY

In many essays over the last year, I have paraphrased Martin Luther's argument that the law has power only over the body and property. See, e.g., On Governmental Authority (1523) at p. 23: "The temporal government has laws which extend no further than to life and property and external affairs on earth[.]" Luther draws a distinction between "worldly authority" and "divine authority." He says that the "world is God's enemy" and that a wise prince is a "mighty rare bird." Id. at pp. 60-61. Yet at the same time, he asserts that worldly authority fulfills God's will because it targets "wickedness" and protects meek Christians from violence. Thus, while worldly authority may be crass and unappetizing, it performs a "Christian" function by restraining criminals from inflicting violence.

These ideas influenced me. They further weakened my already weak respect for the law. I shared Luther's low estimation of the law precisely because of the law's base subject matter. In the final analysis, the law's power derives solely from its ability to impact men's bodies and their property. These are external things. They do not transcend time. They have nothing to do with men's beliefs, conscience or thoughts. They are ephemeral, even petty. Human beings who live only to satisfy their bodies and gain property are superficial creatures. Some might even call them hedonists, or at least fatally selfish. Ironically, however, commercial success depends solely on gaining property, which translates into bodily comfort. Commerce typifies "the world." It scarcely warrants surprise, then, that Luther said "the world is God's enemy."

Despite its superficial powers, the law relishes its authority. And for good reason: Because people value their bodies and property so much in this world, it makes sense that they respect the law. After all, the law can seize their property, injure their bodies and take away the things that give them pleasure. True, it cannot compel them to believe things or have honor. But most people could care less about those things. They just want to use their bodies as they wish and buy things that make them feel good. The law influences them because they know the law can impact their bodies and property. It holds them in check because no one wants to experience bodily pain or discomfort, nor does anyone want to lose property. The law works because people are superficial: They like their bodies and property, so they are afraid to lose them.

But what would happen if someone had utter contempt for his body or property? What possible influence could the law have on a man who did not care whether he suffered pain, or whether he owned anything? In a word, the law would wield no power over such a man. If he truly did not care whether someone imprisoned him, beat him, tortured him or executed him, nothing could possibly restrain him from acting in a way that would give rise to those penalties. In the same way, if he did not care whether he lost everything he possessed, the law would not impress him with garnishments, judgments, forced sales or seizures. Put simply, men who do not value their bodies or property can live beyond the law's influence.

That is not to say that the law would not take action against such a man. If the man committed a crime warranting imprisonment, it would imprison him. But the man would not care. In a strange way, his apathy and indifference to punishment would deny the law's effect. The law proceeds on the assumption that it inflicts suffering on an offender for acting in a way it condemns. It asserts its power by doing something to the offender that the offender does not like, just as a parent asserts its power over a wayward child by spanking him. The offender does not like bodily pain, just as the child does not like spanking. Yet if the offender really does not care whether his body experiences pain, what power does the law really have?

In short, anyone with pure contempt for his own body or property can deny the law's effect. Although the law rarely admits as much, it asserts power over its subjects by doing painful things to their bodies and property. How else would it maintain control if it did not threaten to take things away that people enjoy? How else would it force compliance if it did not threaten physical misery for failure to comply? Laws might seem "objective," but they really depend on basic human aversions to pain. By the same token, laws only function because they assume that people do not want to suffer bodily pain. Like any power institution, they enforce their will by threatening to do something the subject does not want. Legal scholars can talk all they want about "neutral laws." But in the end, laws depend on subjective reactions to threatened consequences. People don't like it when their bodies suffer or when they lose their property. So the law threatens those things in order to enforce its commands.

But what about the man who refuses to care whether he feels pain? The law cannot intimidate him. It cannot "entice" him to act as it commands. This is the purest possible rebellion against the law, for even if the law penalizes his body, he does not feel he is losing anything he wants. A penalty only asserts true power when the violator feels that he is enduring something he does not like. Most people do not like bodily pain. That is why the law generally works when it inflicts physical pain: It forces the subject to feel something he does not like. That is real power.

Not so for the man who accepts pain without caring. The law asserts no power over him. It does not force him to experience anything he does not want. By remaining indifferent to physical pain, he denies the law's power. He does not allow it to make him feel any worse than he would on his own. That is rebellion.

Still, how many people can truly ignore their bodies and their property? Nerve endings do not lie. From a theoretical standpoint, however, the best way to revolt against the law is not to care about your body or your possessions. That is a very hard thing to do in this society.

On the other hand, think about "martyrs" and "noble men." Jesus Christ endured excruciating physical agony but did not let it affect him. So did all the "Christian heroes" who willingly suffered torture and death because they had contempt for their bodies and the "things of this world."

In general, the law strikes fear because it targets the things that most people live for: Bodily comfort and property. But it loses all its power when it punishes people who do not care about those things.

TURNING THE TABLES ON THE EXECUTIONERS

AN ESSAY

During my break from writing this week, I have had time to read some interesting history. I am always searching for historical material to flesh out my satires and inspire essays that link modern-day problems to ancient precedents. I found a good one in the story of Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (1667-1747), a Scottish Baron who had the honor to be the last man beheaded at London's Tower Hill.

I have studied capital punishment at length. I think it measures a society's moral progress. You can tell how advanced--or barbaric--a society is by investigating three things: (1) Does its government kill its own citizens "by law?"; (2) If it does, how does it "officially kill" them? and (3) If it does, how many does it kill every year? For over a year now, I have cataloged which countries (and US States) allow capital punishment. I have also investigated which methods they use to execute people. It is a grim business, but I think it reveals a lot about human societies and their claims to "civilization." Capital punishment, after all, is the ultimate government action vis-a-vis the individual. Government can take many things from you. It can take all your property, your dignity, your self-respect, your money, your liberty and even your children. But it can't take anything more than your life.

Yet it impossible to talk about capital punishment without talking about history. Throughout the ages, capital punishment and brute political power have gone hand in hand. Political power uses law to advance its own purposes, not in order to vindicate abstract principles like justice or right. Victorious governments execute rebels and others who commit "treason" against them. In this sense, capital punishment masquerades as a "legal sanction," when in fact it is merely an exercise in raw, arbitrary political power. The strong man kills the weak one who opposes the "establishment." The strong man deploys judges to cover up the killing with official-sounding legal gobbledygook.

But law doesn't fool me. Law is supposed to speak against killing our neighbors, not kill them itself. I have profound difficulty believing legal rhetoric that justifies capital punishment when the same legal rhetoric condemns common, intentional homicide. If intentional homicide is "wrong" when a citizen commits it, how is it different when a State officer does the same to a citizen? There is a glaring inconsistency here. And this inconsistency persists because governments have always claimed a power to kill their own citizens. In my view, blind tradition is no reason to keep foolishness alive in our time.

In all my studies about capital punishment, I routinely run across ironic tales that expose these philosophical inconsistencies. Simon Fraser's story is a perfect example. Fraser was sentenced to die because he conspired with Jacobite rebels during their attempt to overthrow King George II in the 1740s. He "had to die" because he threatened to dislodge those with political power. He lost, so he "had to die." If he had won, he probably would have executed the losers. It had nothing to do with principle; it was about power.

In any event, Fraser went to Tower Hill. Huge crowds gathered to watch his head roll off the block. The government built wooden scaffolds to accommodate the overflow crowd. They wanted to see this "traitor" die. But before the headsman struck, a scaffold collapsed, killing 20 bloodthirsty spectators.

I laughed when I learned this. I found it ironic that men and women died while waiting to watch an execution. They paid for their perverse desire to watch the government ritually kill someone. Something turned the tables on them. They thought the law supported them against the "traitor," but they died, too. Victorious political power might have killed Lord Fraser, but some other power killed the spectators who prepared to celebrate his death.

In my view, this shows that executions do not prove that the government is "right" about anything, even if the condemned person is guilty. No matter what legal arguments the King's judges and prosecutors made to justify Lord Fraser's death in law, they could not prevent "innocent" spectators from dying, too. In short, government had power to order Lord Fraser to die, but it had no power to prevent the spectators from dying. Thus, the government's own claim to "power over life and death" appeared pitifully limited.

In principle, then, government is not "naturally right" when it kills its own citizens. It has simply arrogated the power to execute people "by law" because power creates law. There is nothing in nature that entitles government to put citizens to death. All the procedures, trials, rules and rhetoric underlying modern capital punishment are mere inventions, not a priori truths.

There is not much I can do to dislodge power. I just like to think that government should aspire to something better than the crude, human urge for revenge against "trespassers." I have written before than men will always kill each other. Men are emotional animals. They have individual weaknesses, passions, idiosyncrasies and even delusions. Yet government is supposed to be better than the individual men who compose it. Just because men constitute government does not mean that government must mirror all men's weaknesses. To the contrary, government has a unique power to stand on principle and dignity, even when individual men cannot. To my mind, there is no substance to the argument that "government can kill because men can kill." Rather, I believe that government has a unique opportunity to insist on behavior that transcends human weakness. Principles might not work for individual men, but governments can demand them.

Law should mean something more than mere power. Lord Fraser's story reveals power at work through law. Yet his story also reveals that neither law nor power can control everything, despite their claims to the contrary. While power might have ordained Lord Fraser's death, it did not ordain the spectators' deaths. No legal solemnity or argument killed the spectators. Law may have justified Lord Fraser's death with florid rhetoric and even legal citations. But its pretentious reasoning could do nothing to justify--or prevent--the spectators' deaths.

In short, power has limits. But power acts as if does not. I love stories that reveal those limits, chastising those who adhere to power. The spectators at Lord Fraser's execution confidently took their seats on the scaffold to behold "their" power at work on a man "their" law had condemned. They felt justified in exercising "their" power. But they wound up dying, too, even though the "law was on their side." They didn't "deserve to die;" but apparently--to quote The Unforgiven--"deserve's got nothing to do with it."

What sweet, maddening irony. The history of power--and capital punishment--abounds with stories like this. In the end, you get the impression that no one is right, no matter who dies and who invokes law to justify death.

JUSTICE THOMAS ON TROY DAVIS : "WHEN IT COMES TO EXECUTIONS, I DON'T GIVE A BROTHER A CHANCE"

WISDOM FROM OUR LEARNED SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

By : Mr. Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court (1991-present) (appointed by President George H.W. Bush; confirmed by the United States Senate 51-48); Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1982-1990); J.D., Yale Law School (1974); Affirmative Action Beneficiary; Affirmative Action Opponent; Republican; Champion, Supreme Court Building Cafeteria Cheeseburger n’ Fries Eating Competition (1998, 2003, 2005)(Runner-Up to Sandra Day O’Connor (1999); Runner-Up to William H. Rehnquist (2004)); Member, The Federalist Society; Republican.

Early this week, my colleagues issued an extraordinary order granting Troy Davis—a Georgia death row inmate—an opportunity to challenge his conviction for a murder that happened 20 years ago. Three courts have already reviewed his conviction. A Georgia jury found him guilty in 1991. Georgia wants to just get the show on the road and put him to death. My good friend Justice Scalia dissented from this madness and I joined him. He basically said that the law requires some finality in death penalty cases. He said the law does not permit us to free convicted killers because we think they are “actually innocent.” And he said that the Constitution allows States to execute people even if they are “actually innocent.” After all, if you’re guilty “in law,” it doesn’t matter if you’re not guilty “in reality.” Here at the Supreme Court, we only care about the law, not reality.

I joined Justice Scalia’s well-reasoned dissent. But I have a right to add my own thoughts about this case. All too often, Justice Scalia gets to say all the fun stuff and I just silently sign on. This time I want to say a few things myself because I care deeply about this issue. This is a case about black men on death row. I just want to say for the record: I don’t give a brother a break. If a brother wind up on death row, shee-yit, he ain’t gonna get no love from old Uncle Thomas. That be what it is.

Justice Scalia did a fine job explaining what the law says about so-called “postconviction relief.” But Justice Scalia can be a little technical. I like simpler language, even if it involves the law. So today I’m going to explain what Justice Scalia meant in laymen’s terms. I’m also going to talk about why I don’t give a brother a break. Bottom line: When States want to execute black men, they can count on my full support. After all, the law says that States can execute convicted black men. The law says that black men can only appeal their convictions under certain circumstances. If they don’t follow the procedures—or the appeals court affirms the conviction—that’s it: Dead playa walking. I respect the law in this area. And the law says we need finality after juries speak, innocence or not. Not just that, I’m a Federalist. States have a right to execute black murderers. As a Federal judge, who am I to stand in their way?

Let’s start with the Constitution. Let’s get rid of the argument that the death penalty is unconstitutional. Like Justice Scalia, I believe the text provides the answers here. We just need to look it up. First, the Constitution doesn’t use the words “death penalty,” “execution,” “innocent” or “actually innocent.” All it says is: “..nor shall any State deprive any person of life…without due process of law…” (U.S. Const. Amd. XIV, § 1). Well, if it says the State has to give “due process of law” before “depriving life,” that necessarily implies the State can deprive life. There wouldn’t be a rule qualifying how the State deprives life it couldn’t deprive life in the first place. So the text says States can execute people. That’s enough for me.

American tradition allows executions, too. Justice Scalia always likes writing about colonial history and 17th Century England to make sense of what the Constitution says. I like it, too. I basically just follow his lead. He is right that States used to execute people in 1787. In fact, they executed lots of people, even for stealing and adultery. They just hanged them from a sour apple tree and buried them in the pasture. They even burned and whipped slaves to death. But back in those days, killing a slave wasn’t even capital punishment, because slaves weren’t people by law. You can only execute a person. Life sure was easier back then.

Of course, liberals like to say that capital punishment is “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment. Well, we resolved that argument in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1977). Call me old fashioned, but I’m all about precedent. When we decide a case, we need to stick by the result. In that case, we said that the death penalty was not “cruel and unusual;” so out goes that argument. Who am I to contradict the Court? We need to follow what we said in the past, and in 1977 we said that capital punishment is not “cruel and unusual.” That’s enough for me to throw out any liberal contention to the contrary. Precedent is precedent.

Being a Supreme Court justice is not as hard as you think. You just look at the text, listen to Justice Scalia’s lectures about American tradition and check to see if the Court has already said something about the issue in the past. If it has—and you agree with the result—you follow it. If it hasn’t, you do whatever you want. In some tougher cases, the Court says something in the past and you don’t agree with it, like in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). In those cases, you need to overrule the law. But that’s not the case here.

This case involves a Federal law called the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). Although Justice Scalia discusses the statute at length in his dissent, I want to discuss it in simpler terms. Basically, AEDPA makes it tough for convicted black murderers to throw out their convictions. Congress enacted the law because black guys were gumming up the system by filing hundreds of Federal petitions asking for “writs of habeas corpus.” For those who don’t know, “writs of habeas corpus” allow black guys to challenge their State convictions in Federal court (don’t ask me anything else, like what it means in Latin, because I don’t know; ask Justice Scalia about that). This took up way too much time. I’m talking decades; executioners got out of practice. Some black dude might have committed murder in 1978, yet the State wouldn’t get around to strapping him down to the lethal injection table until 2007. I echo Judge Joe Brown when I say: “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Thankfully, the AEDPA cut down on these delaying tactics. Now, black guys get one shot at habeas corpus. And Federal courts can’t overturn a State conviction unless it rests upon a “clear violation of constitutional law as construed by the Supreme Court.”

Basically, AEDPA says: “Screw you” to all black guys who think they can land a “Get out of Jail Free Card” from some Clinton appointee in Federal court. And there is nothing wrong with that. After all, the law is the law. Who am I to question the law?

But this is where Troy Davis comes in. Troy Davis is a convicted black man. He appealed all the way through the Georgia State courts, then applied for habeas corpus in the Federal courts. He lost every time. In every case, the appeals courts said that the “evidence was sufficient” to sustain his conviction. Under AEDPA, he had his one shot at habeas. He lost. Now, he’s trying to appeal directly to the Supreme Court. After losing three times, his lawyers dredged up some new evidence. They say that all the witnesses who said he killed the security guard perjured themselves. These witnesses have even sworn out affidavits recanting everything they said about Davis; they all say the accomplice killed the guard, not him. In other words, Davis is trying to say that he is “actually innocent,” and that it would be unconstitutional for Georgia to execute an “actually innocent man.”

No it wouldn’t. Like I said before, the Constitution doesn’t say anything about “innocence” and “execution.” Rather, the law requires us to allow Georgia to carry out the execution as scheduled. This is not about innocence. This is about law and procedure. Procedure says that black guys get only one shot at habeas under AEDPA. Davis got it. Our court rules say that black guys can appeal directly to the Supreme Court only in “exceptional circumstances.” U.S. Supreme Court R. 20.4(a). Yet these are not “exceptional circumstances.” Davis is not the only black murderer who says “he’s innocent.” I don’t care whether all the witnesses recanted their testimony. This is not a new argument. AEDPA bars federal courts from rehearing any argument that has already been made. Davis is just repeating himself, no matter what affidavits he’s shuffling. Procedure says Davis is done. Who am I to question procedure?

I fully join Justice Scalia’s remark: “This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a habeas court that he is ‘actually innocent.’ Any claim based on ‘actual innocence’ is not constitutionally cognizable.” In re Davis, 557 U.S.___ (2009)(slip op. at p. 2). Let’s be honest here. Troy Davis had a full and fair trial. It does not matter that all the witnesses recanted their testimony and that police investigators admitted they coerced people to accuse Davis. Georgia paid for the trial; are we going to make Georgia pay for another one? Nor does it matter that Davis’ attorney bordered on ineffectiveness. Davis had a fair trial. The jury found him guilty. By law, that verdict subjected him to Georgia’s criminal code. Georgia’s criminal code prescribes the death penalty for murder. The jury imposed that sentence. The State afforded Davis all the procedures it could possibly give him. Not only that, Davis took his innocence claim all the way through both Georgia’s court system and the Federal courts, despite the AEDPA’s prohibition.

Put simply, Davis has had too many chances. The State has paid exorbitant sums defending against Davis’ frivolous arguments. He has exhausted all his legal remedies. It’s time to let Georgia inject this guy with some potassium bromide. This is what the law requires. I follow the law.

I also join Justice Scalia’s observation that Davis’ case represents a “capital conviction in full compliance with law.” In re Davis, 557 U.S. __(2009)(slip op. at p. 5). Here on the Supreme Court, we look no further than the law, provided we agree with it. In this case, the law is the AEDPA. The AEDPA prescribes procedures intended to stop black guys from gaming the criminal justice system with frivolous “innocence claims” decades after they shoot police officers. Additionally, the AEDPA preserves the State’s interest in quickly executing black criminals, as well as protecting the finality of jury verdicts. Remember, we’re talking about law. Under law, we must believe the jury. Juries decide facts, not judges. In this case, the jury said that Davis killed the security guard. Who are we to question a jury, even if we later learn that the jury heard perjured testimony? We need to put our foot down on appeals like this. Every black guy on the planet is going to say “it wasn’t me.” Does this mean we have to grant a new trial every time?

I can tell you this: “Not on this negro’s watch.” From where I’m standing, juries are always right, especially when they sentence black guys to death. I’m not going to contradict a jury, nor am I going to stop a southern State from executing a black man. Federalism says that States have a right to execute black men in their own borders according to local law. There’s nothing unconstitutional about that. States have rights, too, not just black murderers. The Constitution gives you the right to fair trial, not the right to escape execution for “innocence.” Like I said, the Constitution doesn’t use the words “innocent” or “execution.”

I need to say a few more things about “innocence.” All these liberals are up in arms about Justice Scalia’s remark that the Constitution does not prevent the State from executing “actually innocent” black guys. They say it shocks the conscience to allow States to execute people who may be “guilty in law” but are “actually innocent in fact.”

I disagree. On the Supreme Court, we deal with the law, not with facts. From where we sit, there is no truth beyond what the law prescribes. I don’t care if a convicted defendant totally undermines the basis upon which the jury found him guilty. In law, we must trust the jury. We need some finality in our system. As judges, we cannot philosophize about “truth” and “facts.” And we don’t need to: Who needs “truth” when you have law? Law provides all the answers, even if they are fictional. We don’t listen to conscience. We listen to law. Conscience is uncertain; law is crystal clear. In Troy Davis’ case, the law clearly dictates that he “had his chance.” It does not matter what “actually happened.” If we had to weigh the “truth” in every death penalty case, States would never get to lethally inject, shoot, hang, electrocute or gas anybody, black, Hispanic or Cherokee. As judges in a Federal system, we cannot tolerate that result. We must follow the law, not the truth.

Truth is for philosophers. Law is for administrators. We are just trying to settle on some orderly administration here. That’s all Justice Scalia was trying to say. I agree with him. I’d also like to add one personal comment about Troy Davis’ “actual innocence” argument: “Playa, pleeze.”

Now would you please excuse me? I have more important things to do. It’s lunch time and there’s a cheeseburger n’ fries competition today. If I don’t practice now, I might lose to Justice Alito.

GEARING UP FOR TROY DAVIS

Today I'm taking a break from posting so I can study the Troy Davis case. Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued an "extraordinary" order directing a lower Federal court to review a convicted death row inmate's claim that he is "actually innocent." To untrained ears, it may sound strange to call such an order "extraordinary." After all, if the man is innocent, it is hardly "extraordinary" to save him from execution. But we're talking about law here, not humanity or even common sense. Once written, positive law muddles a question; even the most ordinary, obvious things suddenly become "extraordinary" and "unprecedented." Justice, as ever, has nothing to do with it. You learn how to forget justice in law school.

It is also "extraordinary" for the Supreme Court to do anything at all during the sleepy summer recess, let alone intervene to save potentially innocent black men from southern lethal injection tables. Supreme Court justices have more important things to do in the summer, like go on safaris and watch operas. After all, they work hard from October to June. They need some down time. All that talk about collateral estoppel and jurisdiction is exhausting.

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a dissent to this "extraordinary" order. In essence, he wrote that the Constitution poses no barrier to a State executing an "actually innocent man," as long as he receives a "full and fair trial on the merits." After all, the words "innocent" and "execution" don't appear in the Constitution. And we need some finality in our justice system; we can't just free people who say they're innocent, even if all the State's witnesses recant their testimony and there's no direct physical evidence linking the defendant to the crime. Actual innocence, in other words, does not save you from "legal guilt." It doesn't matter how tainted the legal process might be; once a jury speaks--even on the basis of admittedly false testimony and perjured facts-- you're pretty much done.

Yes, you read it right. And yes, you might even wonder whether satire is even necessary in these circumstances.

But satire is necessary. It is necessary to combat foolishness like this. It is necessary to illustrate how counterintuitive the law can really be. That is why I am taking my time to grasp Justice Scalia's latest ode to positive law and procedure. Tomorrow, I plan to castigate this madness with vigor.

Moments like these make me realize that I will never exhaust the satirical well. As long as people like Justice Scalia breathe, I will have ample opportunity to mock callous absurdity.

DIGNITY IS NOT DEAD; IT HAS SIMPLY EVOLVED SINCE 1799: A RESPONSE TO DAVID BROOKS

AN ESSAY

In a recent editorial, David Brooks faulted 21st Century American society for failing to adhere to a “dignity code.” See N.Y. Times July 6, 2009. He begins his argument by applauding George Washington as a “model man,” not just a model General or public official. Brooks observes that Washington scrupulously maintained “dignity” by applying 110 maxims from a manual called “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” He says that Washington lived his whole life according to these rules, which cultivated such habits as “standing when another person enters the room,” “refusing to publicly broadcast passions” and “living reticently.” For Brooks, this systematic adherence to 18th Century etiquette represents a lost art. He calls Washington “dignified” for having followed these rules because they resulted in “self-mastery” and “disinterested,” private strength. Against this historical background, he laments that most Americans no longer practice “dignity” because they publicly broadcast their feelings and refuse to submit to “social norms” for guidance in life. Brooks asserts that “the old dignity code has not survived modern life.”

But Brooks is not talking about abstract dignity. He is talking about specific, 18th Century etiquette rules. Of course 18th Century etiquette rules have not survived modern life. It’s only natural that they died centuries ago. Our society has changed out of all recognition from colonial America. Yet Brooks—like many figures in both American government and law—equate George Washington and 18th Century “founding values” with intrinsic worth. See http://reasoncommercejustice.blogspot.com/2009/04/our-proud-colonial-traditions-what-is.html. They “fetishize” bygone values such as genteel chivalry and impossibly modest self-control. Brooks notes that, unlike public figures today, Washington refused to publicly air his passions. Rather, his “moral character set him apart.” He was “reticent,” “disinterested,” “dispassionate” and “private.” In Brooks’ estimation, these 18th Century values transformed Washington into a “symbol for dignity.” And—according to Brooks— “dignity is dead” in American life because people do not act like George Washington anymore.

Dignity is not dead in American life. It is just different from 18th Century etiquette codes. Brooks does not understand that the word “dignity” does not refer to George Washington’s personal moral handbook. Rather, “dignity” derives from the Latin word “dignitas,” meaning “worth” or “worthiness.” In English, “dignity” does not mean technical adherence to a particular moral code. Instead, it refers to “bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.” Dictionary.com, “Dignity” Meaning 1. It also means “nobility or elevation of character; worthiness.” Id., at Meaning 2. These definitions stress self-respect, nobility and worth. They do not depend upon allegiance to 18th Century moral norms or etiquette technicalities. They do not involve morality, either. Rather, dignity is a broad term. Dignity involves respect and principle. It implies a refusal to countenance certain “base” conduct, both privately and in government. A “dignified” man refuses to adopt certain means to achieve particular ends, even if the ends are noble. A “dignified government” values its citizens; it ascribes worth to them no matter the circumstances. Both men and governments can be dignified without technically following 18th Century “social norms.” And while “disinterest,” “reticence,” “dispassion” and “privacy” can reflect dignity, a dignified person need not always be disinterested, reticent, dispassionate or private. After all, we are only human. Our feelings, emotions and passions define us as much—if not more—than our reason. If we never give air to our emotions or passions, we renounce our humanity altogether. In short, people and governments can be dignified without following Washington’s 110-step formula from 1750.

Brooks places undue weight on the “technical aspects” of 18th Century dignity. And oddly, he concedes that 18th Century dignity cannot survive in the United States. In a striking admission, he says that “capitalism” makes it virtually impossible to scrupulously adhere to Washington’s “dignity code.” After all, in order to achieve commercial success in America, Brooks says that people must “become managers of [their] own brand, [and] do endless self-promoting end zone dances to broadcast their own talents.” How true. Modern commercial values make it well-nigh impossible to both retain dignity and make money. Commerce forces individuals to engage in undignified behavior because commerce is inherently undignified. Commerce wants results and bottom lines, not dignity. Dignity is about means, not ends. Dignity is about lofty sentiments, principles and nobility. Yet commerce is about petty profiteering, forgettable deals and self-enrichment. In commerce, it doesn’t matter how you get there; you just need to get there. That is the opposite of dignity. A dignified person shrinks from certain “dishonorable” pathways to wealth. But a “go-getter” does not. A go-getter would blast past the hesitating man with dignity, take the job, make a fortune and live happily ever after. A lot of good dignity did the other guy: Honor and dignity don’t pay bills.

Brooks is correct in pointing out that dignity involves reticence. Commerce, however, does not like reticence. It likes loud, misleading, public and crass advertising. It likes self-promotion, boasting and ostentation. Quiet guys do not get the job or the promotion, nor do quiet guys open new accounts. In fact, quiet guys get fired. It is OK for rich guys to be “private” or “quiet” once they amass a fortune. But before that, they need to pull out all the dignity stops to get the money. In this sense, modern commercial values in America make dignity an impossible dream. Essentially, the only way to maintain dignity is to refrain from commerce altogether. Yet this is our system. Brooks laments the fact that dignity is hard to find in American life, yet obliquely recognizes that commerce makes dignity a bad business decision. If it comes between “dignified poverty” and “undignified riches,” most Americans will opt for riches, dignity be damned. That is just the way our society works.

In some sense, America’s dwindling dignity reflects its value hierarchy. Although George Washington and the Framers may have appreciated dignity for its own rewards, they did not create a government that makes dignity a prime concern. The word “dignity” appears nowhere in the Constitution. It is not a governmental value. If dignity were really a concern, the Framers could have included language that enshrined it. The Constitution has a commerce clause; but it does not have a “dignity clause.” This was a fundamental value decision. No matter how important “dignity” may have been to the Framers as individuals, they did not consider it a primary government concern. No, commerce was more important than dignity. There are no requirements that Congress enact “dignified laws,” or that the President act in a “dignified manner” or that the Supreme Court issue “dignified opinions” that respect the “dignity of American citizens.” From a constitutional perspective, dignity simply doesn’t matter. Our Framers could have made dignity a core American value, but they chose commerce instead.

In this textual light, Brooks can scarcely complain that Americans “do not practice dignity.” They are just trying to find success in a system that values commerce more than dignity. And dignity has never been—and cannot be—central to a system in which commercial gain is life’s prime motivation.

But not all societies enshrine commercial success as much as America does. Germany, for instance, makes “human dignity” government’s overriding concern. See Basic Law Article 1 § 1: “Human dignity is inviolable.” That is a profound statement. It sets a basic tone for government and for society. It announces that the State cares about dignity; it cares about the “way it does things” as much as the things it wishes to accomplish. There is no such hopeful language in the American Constitution. Rather, it merely delineates governmental powers without any support for overriding human values like dignity. True, nothing in the Constitution prevents people from embracing dignity in their lives. But there is no impulsion to embrace dignity, either. These are the values we have chosen.

Despite all this, dignity is not dead in America. While the Constitution may not reflect a formal commitment to dignity in American life, many Americans nonetheless believe that dignity is important. In this sense, Brooks is wrong to fault Americans for abandoning the “old dignity code,” if there ever were such a code in the first place. Modern-day dignity refers to the dictionary definition, not to 18th Century ideals. In other words, a modern American can be “dignified” without always being reticent or dispassionate. Americans practice dignity in the modern grammatical sense; they attempt to live their lives with some “nobility” and “self-respect.” They refrain from activity that contradicts their principles. Some Americans refuse to act in ways that lower their own sense of personal worth. Some Americans do not pursue “any means necessary” to achieve particular ends. That reflects dignity. Dignity means the strength to follow one’s own principles over crass personal gain. Some Americans do that, even if they are not always reticent or private. In short, dignity is not dead; it has simply evolved. It means something different today than it meant in 1750.

I do not think David Brooks understands this. Rather, he uses 18th Century ideals to scold modern individuals for “failing to master themselves and their passions.” He uses “dignity” as a way to express condemnation for values he does not like. In particular, he singles out Michael Jackson as a man “untouched by any pressure to live according to the rules and restraints of adulthood.” For Brooks, Michael Jackson was “undignified” because he could not act like a “regular adult” and felt no pressure to adhere to “rules and restraints” associated with “adult life.” In other words, Michael Jackson did not live like George Washington. He lived out loud, so he was not reticent. He showed his passions, so he was not dispassionate. He lived publicly, so he was not sufficiently private. Yet does this mean Michael Jackson was “undignified?” If anything, David Brooks is holding Michael Jackson to a distinct moral standard. In this sense, Brooks uses “dignity” more as a moral weapon than as a phrase to express “worth” or “self-respect.” What does “adulthood” have to do with these things? And what is adulthood, anyway? The way Brooks lives? Does this mean that we are not dignified if we do not encounter the same “rules and restraints” that Brooks encounters in his adult life?

I disagree with Brooks here on many levels, primarily because he confuses dignity with moral judgment. Michael Jackson lived an “unconventional life.” He did things many people consider “abnormal” and “strange.” Yet judging him under a “dignity standard” employs the wrong analysis. It is one thing to apply contemporary moral norms to brand “unconventional people.” But dignity implicates different values. Dignity is largely an individual matter; it is about self-respect and worth. Morality, on the other hand, is a group matter; moral condemnation reflects dominant group judgments about particular conduct and habits. In this way, Brooks confuses dignity with morality. He takes his view of personal dignity and incorporates it into a moral rule, which he then applies to judge Michael Jackson.

Brooks’ views about dignity are hopelessly inapplicable. We cannot possibly apply George Washington’s 18th Century etiquette rules in a society that has changed as much as ours has changed. And I place no intrinsic value on 18th Century values. Unlike many prominent judges, politicians and historians, I do not fetishize things simply because they were popular in the 18th Century. I do not categorically revere things because George Washington revered them. Just because George Washington chose to value something does not automatically entitle his values to respect in 21st Century life. During George Washington’s lifetime (1732-1799), for instance, English authorities disemboweled traitors (1746) (see http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/hdq.html), and colonial authorities publicly hanged suspected black murderers in chains until their bodies rotted away (1750). See also http://reasoncommercejustice.blogspot.com/2009/04/our-proud-colonial-traditions-what-is.html. Washington himself did not invariably express “noble” or “praiseworthy” sentiments, either. John Marshall, for example, quoted Washington as calling freed slaves “abandoned vagabonds” and “miscreants” who could not serve in the Continental Army because “[t]he rights of mankind and the freedom of America… have numbers sufficient to support them, without resorting to such wretched Assistance.” Marshall, The Life of George Washington (1804)(emphasis added) at p. 273.

In a word, Washington was no saint. And he did not live in a perfectly rarefied age, either. That is why I deeply suspect anyone who blindly assumes that “18th Century values” are somehow “superior” to modern values. Human beings will always be barbaric; but they were generally more barbaric in 1750 than they are in 2009.

Having said all this, dignity is very important to me. Yet I do not subscribe to Brooks’ definition. I do not live my life attempting to mimic 18th Century etiquettes, nor do I deify everything George Washington ever did. Rather, I believe in dignity as worth and individual self-respect. I apply the dictionary definition, not the Washingtonian one. Modern dignity lives on. Washington’s does not. And there is nothing wrong with that. We don’t disembowel people or hang executed slaves in public anymore, either. I’d say that represents an advance in our society, not a regression. Thus, I see no shame in abandoning moralistic “dignity codes” as antiquated as drawing and quartering. We can do better than that.

GAY REPUBLICANS' MORAL ALLIANCE TO STOP SODOMY AND NON-PROCREATIVE SEXUAL CONTACT FOR ALL TIME

POLITICAL PARTIES FOR A CHANGING WORLD

By : Mr. A. Long Wiener, Ph.D. (Harvard Divinity School), M.P.H., Party Spokesman and Director of Moral Arguments; Charter Member, Gay Men’s Association for the Restoration of Sodomy Laws and the Common Law Prosecution of Lewdness Offenses; Atheist.

Morality does not distinguish between Democrats and Republicans. It does not distinguish between gay and straight. Bad behavior is bad no matter whether a gay Republican or a patriotic Democrat engages in it. Stealing, rape and theft are bad whether the perpetrator is Protestant, Catholic, Mongolian or Native American. Morality does not judge the man; it judges the conduct. There is some conduct in this world that is fundamentally wrong because it is disgusting. It also violates God’s law and the natural order. I am talking about sodomy. In America today, State governments no longer prosecute sodomy as they did in the past. In our view, this is a colossal mistake. By permitting sodomy, America is descending into godless infamy. As gay Republicans, we are committed to the greater good. We are determined to restore harsh common law criminal penalties for sodomy. Although these penalties will disproportionately fall upon us, we are willing to suffer to advance America down the path to righteousness.

Sodomy is evil because it is unnatural and transgresses God’s law. The Apostle Paul said: “Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” Romans 1 : 26-27. God is not the only one who condemns sodomy as an “error” deserving “due penalty.” Our wise common law ancestors in Great Britain also forbade sodomy in the harshest terms. Courts in 18th Century England sentenced “sodomites” to death by hanging. See, e.g., Rex v. Griffin (C.C.C. 1726). They also publicly castigated sodomites for engaging in “beastly” conduct “to the disgrace of Human Nature,” “to the Displeasure of Almighty God,” and “not fit to be named.” These wise English jurists labeled convicted sodomites “degenerated Miscreants from the Race of Men…moved by the instigation of the Devil” who “did not have the fear of God before their eyes.”

Our Nation proudly follows the common law in virtually every legal field, from contract to tort to property and criminal law. Our common law ancestors knew what they were talking about. We should listen to them about sodomy, too.

But who listens? Last year, America forsook righteousness and elected a Mohammedan President to the White House: Barack Hussein Obama. This man professes love and tolerance for all Americans, whether black, white, Asian, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or Pagan. He promised to “expand liberty” for traditionally unpopular groups, such as homosexuals and paupers. He publicly praised an abhorrent Supreme Court decision that abolished sodomy laws in the United States: Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003). In short, Obama has endorsed sodomy. He considers it “normal,” despite a compelling common law tradition to the contrary. He feels no moral qualms about allowing two men to commit abominable acts “not fit to be named” in the United States. He professes to follow God’s Commandments, but any ruler who permits sodomy in his realm is no true believer. He says that “liberty” guaranteed under the United States Constitution means the “freedom to make intimate life decisions and to determine one’s own bodily integrity without undue governmental restraint on moral grounds.” According to this perverse argument, Obama certifies genital sin of the worst sort.

This is a dangerous commitment. Obama says he supports liberty. Liberty to do what? To engage in conduct “instigated by the devil” and deserving “due penalty” under God’s law? No matter what Obama thinks “liberty” means in the United States Constitution, we know beyond doubt that God does not allow men to commit sodomy. Both Scripture and common law tradition forbid “unnatural intercourse” between members of the same sex. Just because the Constitution permits something does not mean it is consistent with God’s law. In a sense, Obama is encouraging Americans to violate God’s law by misleading them with false hopes about “constitutional liberty.” In so doing, Obama wages war against God and leads Americans to damnation. As gay Republicans, we are aghast. We demand that President Obama renounce his support for “the liberty to commit sodomy.” We demand common law penalties for sodomy. If the Supreme Court strikes down these penalties, we insist that Congress pass a constitutional amendment providing special protection for sodomy laws. We can no longer tolerate a Constitution that permits Americans to willfully violate God’s law. Our government is assisting the Devil. It is encouraging Americans to make choices that will send them to Hell. Government has a duty not only to protect America from Muslim terrorism and crime, but also to ensure that they find their way to salvation in Christ. Yet Obama is not doing this. His support for sodomy will condemn countless Americans to the everlasting Pit. This is not “Change We Can Believe In.” Put bluntly, Obama’s “liberty” will deliver countless Americans into Satan’s hands. As gay Republicans, we cannot allow this to happen.

“Liberty” does not mean the freedom to engage in non-procreative sexual activity. God says that human beings may only engage in sex in order to beget children. This is the healthy approach to sex. Carnal pleasure cannot provide a motivation for natural sexual intercourse between men and women. Every sexual encounter must be calculated to yield a child in Jesus’ name. God wants new followers. And he is watching you to make sure you are having sex for the right reasons. He knows why you have sex. Whenever you have sex for some reason other than producing a child, you sin. Whenever you place your genitals in a place other than a place reasonably calculated to fertilize a woman’s egg, you commit sodomy. There are two inquiries relevant to God’s law in sexual matters: (1) Why are you having sex?; and (2) Where are you putting your genitals? If you are having sex to please yourself, with no intention to fertilize an egg and expand God’s kingdom, you betray the Lord our God. If you place your genitals in your hand, in a mouth, in an ear, in an anus, on a thigh, on a windowsill, on a car seat or in a dog, you commit sodomy, be the dog male or female. God knows what you do and why you do it. No one escape’s God’s glance. No one deceives God. Americans are God’s people. They must follow God’s word. They cannot follow God’s word when their President encourages and allows them to have sex for the wrong reasons. Proper sex is about the intent to create children. Without the right intent, sex is sin. As gay Republicans, we are shocked that President Obama actually encourages Americans to engage in sin that will land them in Hell.

We refuse to fall into Obama’s trap. We refuse to allow America to slide into moral degradation and squalor. To win the war on sodomy and immorality, we must withdraw all legal protection for sodomy and unnatural sex. Although man’s law does not necessarily serve God’s law, we must provide an earthly incentive to comply with God’s law. If men and women fear to engage in sodomy because they know man’s law will punish their bodies for it, they will likely refrain from conduct that angers God. Sodomites and sinful flesh worshippers know only bodily sensation. The law can affect their bodies by torturing and killing them. These sinners will respect laws that threaten to harm their bodies. In so doing, man’s law will serve God by making it less likely that men and women will have sex for improper reasons.

Tradition supports this position. Until 2003, many American States maintained criminal penalties for sodomy. Prior to that, every Western Nation condemned sodomy in the harshest terms. Even Germany forbade it until 1994. See Criminal Code § 175. In that light, we reject the argument that “evolving standards of acceptable behavior” render sodomy an antiquated crime. States only abolished criminal penalties for sodomy because Godless lobbyists and homosexual infiltrators secretly bribed legislators to repeal the statutes. For centuries before that, sodomy was both a crime and a sin. There is no good reason not to make it a crime again. In fact, by punishing sodomy, we protect our citizens from eternal damnation and wretched carnal delights. In America, we have no time for delight. As God’s people, we must keep our minds focused upon God, not ourselves. No matter how nice it would be to have an orgasm without a resulting child, we must suppress that urge for God and country. Tradition works. America evolved from a colonial backwater into the world’s preeminent military and economic power while criminalizing sodomy. Let us return to our roots. Let us keep God before our eyes as we make our way into a new century.

As gay Republicans, we are aware that criminalizing sodomy will bar our only sexual outlet. We are also aware that the Apostle says we are: “[F]illed with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness [and] malice.” Romans 1 : 29. He also says that we: “[K]now God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die.” Id. at 1 : 32. Nonetheless, we are prepared to sacrifice our own pleasure for the common good. After all, we make up only a “relatively small fraction of the population.” See Judge Richard A. Posner, Becker-Posner Blog, Internet Matching – Posner’s Comment, March 22, 2009, at http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/archives/2009/03/. True, we are largely deviants with hypersexual impulses, “idiosyncratic tastes” and a penchant to rape children. But we are also principled Republican thinkers. We realize that our own forbearance will save this Nation from damnation, immorality and vice. Our own spiritual misery is insignificant compared to the benefits we will bestow upon the country by restoring traditional common law death penalties for sodomy. We have the capacity to use our reason, despite the maddening passions that draw us to commit genital abominations with other men and mammals. We will persevere because we are bold gay Republicans. We will not fall into Obama’s trap. We reject constitutional liberty because constitutional liberty gives refuge to the Devil. We prefer to placate God than to defend man’s perverted law. Although our service will transform us into bitter, sex-starved maniacs, we will show the world the measure of our resolve. We care about America. We are willing to punish ourselves for America. We are willing to make ourselves into pariahs to save souls. We are even willing to suffer the ultimate legal punishment if we transgress.

We are honorable gay Republicans. We will stop all sodomy and non-procreative sexual contact for all time. Through our sacrifice—and even through our executions—we will guarantee that every orgasm in this country results in a new citizen. And in so doing, we will restore morality to these troubled United States, no matter what damage Hussein Obama inflicts upon them.

JUSTICE ALITO REAFFIRMS HIS COMMITMENT TO SENSIBLE AMERICAN CRIMINAL LAW

WISDOM FROM OUR LEARNED SUPREME COURT JURISTS

By : Mr. Samuel A. Alito, Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court (2006-present) ; Former Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1990-2006); United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey (1987-1990); United States Department of Justice (1981-1987); Federal Prosecutor (1977-1981); Graduate, Yale Law School; Clear Moral Visionary; Charter Member, The Federalist Society; Founding Member, The Anti-Drug-Offender Institute of New Jersey; Board President, The Association of Justinian Lawyers for the Immediate Execution of Child Molesters Upon Suspicion Alone, Constitutional Qualms Notwithstanding, et alias honores.

Every day, I learn to love our American Republic more because Americans understand how to treat criminals. I have dedicated myself to public service since early adulthood, and the longer I live, the more I learn to respect our justice system. Put simply, American criminal law is great because it disrespects criminals—and criminals deserve no respect because they have banished themselves from society.

Criminals have no place in American society. We have an obligation to punish criminals severely. If individuals violate the ground rules that hold our society together, they deserve no grace from our State. In fact, our State has a duty to harshly punish criminals for several reasons. First, we want an orderly society. When the law harshly punishes criminals, we not only remove dangerous threats from our midst; we also send a clear message to other would-be lawbreakers that we will hunt them down and make them suffer. Second, we want a moral society. As an avowed Federalist, I believe the People have the right to enshrine their moral ideals in law. They have a right to criminally punish immoral vagabonds, ruffians and people who do not fit in. As a Federal judge, I respect the States. I refuse to interfere with States’ efforts to punish vicious thugs, porn peddlers, crack pushers and public urinators, except in cases in which the States do not punish conduct I find morally disgusting. In such cases, I do not support the States; rather, I punish criminals consistent with my own values as a Catholic, Republican, Yale-educated jurist in public service. In brief, American criminal law targets recalcitrant rebels who lost the right to live among us. We view criminals as dangers to be expunged. We have a great system. I am proud to serve it.

Yet there are Nations on earth that do not see the light. As a scholar, it is my duty to learn different perspectives about the law. Although America is the greatest country in the world because we believe in "freedom and the dignity of every life" (see State of the Union Speech of President George W. Bush, January 29, 2002), we can learn various new approaches to issues by studying other countries. Occasionally, Europe will devise a good idea about electronics or internet commerce. But in most cases, I have found that European ideas are dangerous, especially in legal and social fields. I read legal texts from many legal traditions. Thanks to my study, I have learned that American criminal law is definitely the best. European approaches to criminal law shocked me. And they should shock every American. Nonetheless, I am glad that I studied European law. In the end, I learned that there is no place like home—especially when it comes to dealing with criminals. Europeans forgive and forget. In America, we crucify and bury our scum. That’s the difference.

To illustrate, consider Germany’s Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch). In recent decades, Germany transformed from a National Socialist dictatorship into a liberal, federal republic that prizes self-determination, human dignity, social welfare and progressive thought. In so doing, it repealed harsh criminal laws and replaced them with mild, weak social “controls.” Through my extensive study, I learned that Germany prefers to tap criminals on the wrist rather than make them suffer. In so doing, the State disrespects morality, insults crime victims and lets wretched hooligans escape justice. In my view, this is a national disgrace. And the Germans should be ashamed of themselves, especially given their proud tradition of strict, effective penalties for even minor crimes (i.e., guillotine for distributing critical political leaflets; shooting in the back of the head for communist leanings, etc.).

To understand why German criminal law is so bad, we must uncover its stated principles. In his Introduction to the German Criminal Code, Dr. Thomas Weigend, a law professor at the University of Cologne, provides a good beginning: “When the law provides for the deprivation of liberty or property if certain rules are violated, it shows that society considers it absolutely necessary to adhere to these rules.” Einführung, Strafgesetzbuch, 45. Auflage (München: Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag 2008)(hereinafter “Introduction to the Criminal Code”) p. 9. I cannot argue with this assertion. In America, too, we believe that every society has a right to imprison or fine people who transgress against “extremely important” social rules. Dr. Weigend correctly points out that: “Every society needs an opportunity to express its moral disapproval for severe violations against the protected interests of others or the interests of the community.” Id. I could not agree more. Every society has both a right and a duty to condemn those who deviate from acceptable community standards. American communities must punish lawbreakers to remind everyone what is right and wrong.

Yet after a promising beginning, Dr. Weigend veers into dangerous territory. Concerning punishment objectives in the German system, he writes: “Criminal convictions…do not devalue the perpetrator's person,” and that criminal penalties serve the “notion that a convict should not be permanently excluded from society; rather, the State should make it easier for him to make his way back to a responsible life. In this sense, modern-day criminal law in the Social State of the German Constitution is unconditionally obligated to the principle of humanity.” Id.

This is utter nonsense. In America, we do not look with munificence on convicted criminals, nor do we accord them “humanity.” By deviating from fundamental social rules, criminals lose their right to be treated as citizens, let alone with humanity. They are no longer humans; they are criminals. Unlike the Germans, we believe that social miscreants should be permanently excluded from society; we reject wholeheartedly the idea that the State owes criminals the duty to “make it easier for them to make their way back to a responsible life.” In America, the State does not give anything to anyone, even to law-abiding citizens. If anything, the State takes away. It defies imagination to suggest that the State has an obligation to provide criminals a way “back to a responsible life.” The State does not even have an obligation to provide education or health care, let alone the “social means to get your life together.” In short, you only get one shot at life in America. If you mess it up, that’s your problem, even if you are not a criminal. The State does not help anyone find their way in life, let alone lawbreakers who trample on society. The State does not exist to help its citizens; it exists merely to provide a stable environment in which to do business. In short, I find it beyond absurd that Germany “obligates” itself to “humanity.” Criminals do not deserve such indulgences. They are the worst of the worst. If anything, they should be treated inhumanely, not humanely.

I hate criminals. It gets me really angry when I learn that foreign law treats them with respect. We have a duty as a civilized people to make criminals suffer for visiting harm upon our society. They do not belong among decent people. Criminals violate everything sacred about American life: Decency, hard work, thrift, sexual propriety, moral living, financial responsibility, honesty, goodness, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, mercy and Christian caring. When criminals rape, kill, steal, defraud and defile, they do not care about the pain they inflict on their victims. Yet the Germans overlook that pain and slap these barbarians on the wrist like naughty Kindergarteners. In my view, this denigrates both crime victims and American values. But according to Dr. Weigend: “[T]he prosecution of criminal law in Germany is understood to be the task of the governmental community; its purpose is not to provide satisfaction to crime victims.” Introduction to the Criminal Code, p. 11. So the victim is voiceless? What about terrified baby girls who have been burned, raped, tortured, sodomized and traumatized? What about the mother of a 17-year-boy killed by brutal gang thugs? What about a man paralyzed by a drunk driver? Are you telling me that the law should overlook these people’s profound outrage against the criminals who destroyed their lives?

In my view, the law has a duty to listen to victims—and their loved ones—in order to assess the true impact of criminal conduct. Unlike the Germans, we care about people in America. The criminal law is not an abstract encounter between a perpetrator and cold, neutral laws; it is a superheated emotional crucible in which the community expresses its outrage, sorrow and desperation against antisocial monsters. In our law, we care about a mother’s anguish when she loses a daughter to a savage rapist-murderer. We care about a brother’s sadness and loss when a vicious thug kills his sibling in a fight. It is not enough to merely show that a killer intended to kill a victim. We want to hear about the misery, terror, pain, loss and anger in the victim’s family. We want to express our outrage against those who author tragedy in society, even if that outrage has nothing to do with the narrow circumstances surrounding the criminal act. Crime affects the entire community; in America, we are determined to make criminals suffer for the horrific results they inflict on everyone, not just the immediate victim. We revisit the full quantum of pain, horror and misery on criminals that they visit upon their victims. This is true justice, not weak German “resocialization.” In a word, we do not want criminals back in our society. We want them to rot and die in rancid cells after writhing in pain on cold, hard floors for several decades.

Yet the Germans do not understand this. Dr. Weigend writes more about “humanity:” “The principle of humanity…obligates the State to treat even those who have grossly violated the rules of peaceful human coexistence as citizens and brethren, as well as to make every effort to win them back into the community.” Introduction to the Criminal Code, p. 10. If “humanity” means treating criminals like “people” and “winning them back” into our midst, we do not want “humanity” here. Quite the contrary, we would rather be “inhumane” than offer “humanity” to criminals. In America, we believe in fair deals. In our “social contract,” you promise to behave. If you break your promise, you pay the price. You do not get a second chance. Forevermore, you are a “criminal,” not a “person.” The Germans call this “inhumane.” We call it “responsibility.” We do not believe it is difficult to live a normal, law-abiding life. All you need to do is refrain from raping, killing, stealing, lying, defrauding and acting badly. It is not difficult. Just be quiet, live normally and do not make mistakes. It is not brain surgery. The State does not owe an “obligation” to be “humane” to anyone. Nothing in the United States Constitution or any State Constitution requires an American State to be humane. States maintain roads and collect taxes. They imprison criminals and assess parking fines. They operate schools and mental clinics. They have no further obligation; and they certainly have no obligation to act “lovey-dovey” with convicted mass murderers, child rapists, thieves, scoundrels and Bernie Madoff-style fraud artists. In response to any German invitation to introduce “humanity” into American criminal law, I say: “Hell no, we won’t go.”

There is nothing wrong with American criminal law. After studying German criminal law, I am reassured in my belief that we have the best system on earth. We are getting along just fine, thank you very much. In fact, I believe that America is the greatest Nation on earth because we understand that criminals are garbage to be discarded, not “recyclables” to be “re-used.” We understand that criminals are not “regular people.” These are people who have broken the social contract and thus deserve worse treatment than others. Criminals hold nothing sacred; they do not want to reintegrate into our society. We have no desire to “win them back” or “resocialize” them. If anything, we want to eliminate them. And we want them to suffer the same pain they inflicted on their victims. As a Federalist, I am not opposed to State efforts to execute criminals who do not cause death. See Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. __ (2008)(Alito, J., dissenting, slip opinion at pp. 43-66). States have a right to decide whether conduct represents such a deviation from acceptable community standards that perpetrators deserve to die for it. Whether States decide to kill to jail criminals, the result is the same: We believe that criminals are worthless pieces of unwanted garbage. We do not try to “resocialize” garbage; we want to throw it away—permanently. This is how we view criminals in America. They are nothing but disgusting, worthless, nauseating trash; and States have a right to dispose of it as they see fit.

Of course, the Germans do not execute criminals because they want to “win them back” into society. They think they have “intrinsic worth” as human beings. See, e.g., Basic Law (Grundgesetz) Art. 1 ("The worth (or "dignity") of every human being is inviolable. It is the obligation of all governmental authority to respect and protect it."). That is their prerogative. All I can say is that Americans are smarter than Germans because we know where our garbage belongs. We do not bring garbage back into our living rooms. We toss it onto the trash heap or burn it. If something is worthless, you get rid of it. You do not keep it hanging around your house.

Americans will always face criticism. Europeans will always contend that forgiveness and “humanity” are better policies than draconian criminal penalties. They will even invoke Christianity to support their theories, including Jesus’ dictum: “How you treat the least of my brothers is how you treat me.” Matthew 25:40. I am a devout Christian and I fervently believe in Christ. Yet Christ’s words do not apply to criminals, because criminals are not “my brothers.” Moreover, criminals are not even people. They are lawbreakers. As such, different rules apply to them. In this sense, America faces no religious quandary when it mercilessly hunts down and punishes criminals. We can treat them as poorly as we wish without violating Christ’s word, because criminals are not “Christ’s brothers.”

I am reassured in my commitment to American criminal law. We view criminals as we should view them: As garbage to be discarded. Although we will always face criticism for what some perceive as repressiveness against criminals, we take refuge in the knowledge that we are right. America is dedicated to liberty, equality and justice for all. But as soon as you break the law, you have no right to anything but suffering and pain. You lose your worth and your status as a person. This is justice. We owe it to the victims. As a Supreme Court Justice, I will never deviate from these principles, no matter what the Constitution says. There are citizens and there are criminals. They are not the same. I will never treat them the same, either. In a word, I know what to do with my trash: I throw it away.