A date to remember

I oppose capital punishment for several reasons, not least of which is how often real exculpatory evidence turns up later, long after a trial, and if the person mistakenly convicted was also mistakenly executed, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

And for those without-a-doubt cases, such as ones with video evidence showing the accused actually committing the murder, well, I say, staying in prison a long time is the worst punishment of all. 

And what's more, you'll forgive me for saying this, but having worked in the Courthouse for almost two decades, and seeing the jury pools into which justice dives every day, well, let's just say a lot of them seemed easily convincible - by either side. 

So no, I'm not a fan of the capital punishment. But get this - if that's your fate in America, at least you are given the date of your date with the devil. You know you'll go out on the xxth of Xxxxber, 20XX, and can plan accordingly with your magazine subscriptions and Jelly-Of-The-Month Clubs.

In Japan, prisoners on death row are not told of their due dates. Now that is tough to deal with. Every day those inmates wake up, not knowing if it will be their last.

As my witty wife Peggy said when I told her about this, "Maybe they figure it out when everyone else gets a dinner tray and they don't."

Yikes!