Tuesday, April 04, 2006

A Fate Worse Than Death

I have a devil of a time spelling this guy’s name. I’ll go with the Reuters spelling: Zaccariah Moussaoui. Let's call him "Zach".

This is a mentally troubled individual who wants to die. He is disavowed by his terrorist cohorts, and described as someone possessed of significant intelligence. He is painted as an Al Qaeda wannabe, and his story constantly shifts regarding his role in the events of 9/11. Some people say he is a bright guy who knows exactly what he’s doing; others say he’s a sick puppy looking for approval in the worst possible way.

Having been declared eligible for the death penalty, he may be committing “suicide by cop.” In America, only the police, and the state, are authorized to exercise lethal force upon a malefactor.

There are those who argue that giving Zach the Really Big Shot will degrade his desire to be a martyr. Death by lethal injection, without taking a number of infidels down in some grand apocalypse, will not honor the bizarre tradition of Islamic martyrdom.

If you have some insane notion that life is no longer worth living, and you lack the intestinal fortitude to take and hold a mouthful of water, and put a bullet through your teeth, then the police will accommodate your desire. Cops are not a bloodthirsty assassin cult; they are devoted to saving lives. They are also front-line troops, and outside of the military armed forces, they are among the few who are legally authorized to exercise lethal force in the performance of their duty.

Suicide is a cowardly act. We may think our lives mean little to a very few, but opting out at an early stage causes immense emotional damage to those who care about us…and yes, they are there, no matter what we think in those dark moments. God gave you that kitchen; go take the heat. You’re a long time dead…these few moments of life are priceless.

“Suicide by cop” is relatively easy, and a double act of cowardice. Taking your own life is one thing; forcing a stranger to do it is another six-pack of possums. At the cutting edge, all you need to do is go into a public place, and start acting crazy, with a threat of lethal force against innocents. Take hostages, or start cutting people down. Someone will call the police, and they will approach cautiously. They’ll beg you to give up, and get some help for whatever ails you.

Draw down on them, charge them with an edged weapon, or threaten an innocent bystander, and those cops will exercise their option of lethal force. Congratulations! You have just committed suicide by cop. Since you’re a dead coward, you don’t have to think about the officer who will go home that night, and see your face for the rest of his life because you forced him to kill you.

Islamofascists think like space aliens. Death, for them, is glorious.

There is a higher form of “suicide by cop”. The state can execute you, if you behave badly enough. If you don’t go out like a gunfighter, and surrender to stand trial, the state can condemn you to the ultimate penalty. Even taking the needle can be a glorious martyrdom, if the penalty is administered by infidels.

As satisfying as it would be to put Zaccariah Moussaoui to death, I have a better idea.

The federal Bureau of Prisons [BOP] operates a super-max prison in Florence, Colorado. Inmates there literally have to have sunlight piped to them underground. It’s an expensive proposition, but I think we should bury Zach there for the rest of his natural life. It’s the ultimate punishment: he does not get to become a martyr. He is effectively isolated from any comments to his Al Qaeda brotherhood. He will spend the rest of his days contemplating his missed opportunity to become a glorious martyr for Allah. He will spend the rest of his naturally appointed life eating beans, walking in imported sunshine, and wishing he’d died for the cause. Suicide at that point becomes moot; if dying for “The Cause” is all, then denial of that means is the ultimate punishment. A noose of bedsheets is dishonorable, and there is no grand apocalypse available from John Gotti’s old prison cell thirty feet underground.

I am all for the termination of terrorists. It’s a simple solution to a complex problem, and it breaks terror with terror, which is the ultimate solution. Anyone caught in the act should be dropped on sight.

In the case of Mr. Zach, who had the misfortune to fall into our hands alive, I think the ugliest thing we can do to him is deny him the opportunity to die for his cause, and to also deny him any sort of media forum to exhort his fellow terrorists. That super-max federal prison in Colorado accomplishes both aims at once. Give Zach the Rudolph Hess treatment. To paraphrase The Bible, let him wallow in lamentation for the rest of his days. It’s a fate worse than death.

8 Comments:

Blogger Barb said...

I prefer to call this guy Sow,or Sao,if you will. I suppose if we just put this guy in a secure cell in a dental school,and let the students practice root canals on Sow ,without painkillers, the dims would call it torture. The Dental students could also give him a couple of tiny little cuts with a boxcutter every day, maybe blow off a finger or toe with a big firecracker every once in awhile. I feel this would be making the punishment fit the crime. It would also be good training for the students. They could learn just exactly what it is about root canals that hurts so bad( so they could torture folks like us even more. Thanks Sir Laurence Olivier!).

April 04, 2006 1:42 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

I can get behind the "Is it safe" treatment, but can't you imagine this sorry specimen staring at the distant sky, longing for his god, and being denied everything he sought in life? Self-torture is worse than any physical pain we can inflict.

April 04, 2006 1:51 PM  
Blogger boberin said...

Good idea possum. Would we really feel any better if we killed him? Perhaps many would but I think it's the idea that appeals more than the act itself. Killing him will change nothing, imprisoning him for life is indeed far better torture (it sure would be for me) than death, a much worse sentance indeed.

April 04, 2006 4:25 PM  
Blogger Beerme said...

I couldn't agree more. Having been a prison guard for twenty plus years, I know the spectrum of emotions that lifers evolve through. It would be far more punishing to incarcerate this moron for the rest of his life than to finish it all with a lethal injection.

Of course, that said, we must all realize that once he enters the prison system, he is subject to the whims of that system which can include movement through various levels of security given good behavior, as well as various levels of comfort and activity. Finally, there is always the possibility, that somewhere down the road, he could be released from prison.

It has happened before, and will certainly happen again.

April 04, 2006 4:39 PM  
Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Well, maybe I'm the odd man out as they say. I know where you're comin' from Possum, but I frankly don't think it's fair for the taxpayers to subsidize this guy. My feeling is that we should just put him in a cell (forget that lethal injection stuff) and let him rot. It will be over in couple of weeks. No food. No water. He should go out the "euphoric" way like Terry Schindler. Then go in after a month and clean up the mess... NO? Where am I going wrong here?

BTW, "six pack of possums"?... Ewwww..weeee! Now there's a handful, eh?

April 04, 2006 4:49 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

I admit it's an expensive proposition to keep "Zach" locked up for the rest of his days. How many children could we send to a top-notch university on what it will cost?

My family has been victimized by murder. I have no problem with the death penalty. In his case, where he craves death so strongly, I see the quality of mercy as the ultimate punishment.

Our days are appointed by God. Let him spend his remaining time wishing he could die for his nebulous cause. Those terrorists who disown him as a loose cannon, and continue to attack us, should die where they stand. We caught this one, and like those tax protesters who get 40+ years, he should be made an example of. The severe penalties for tax resistance deter most folks from refusing to pony up. The prolonged torture of Zach's incarceration should be an object lesson to his peers, as well as satisfying the bleeding hearts of Old Europe who protest our death penalty.

April 04, 2006 5:16 PM  
Blogger Robert said...

BTW, beerme, I see Zach meeting an end much like that of Jeffrey Dahmer in the system. It would cost even more for the special isolation, but again, I think the toll on him would be worth it. This guy would last about five minutes in general population.

April 04, 2006 5:21 PM  
Blogger camojack said...

Cruel and unusual punishment?

I agree though, he wouldn't last long in the general population; they may be criminals, but they know about 9-11-01, too...

April 05, 2006 3:01 AM  

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