August 22, 2011
Why the death penalty?
Death penalty opponents like to say that it has no deterrent effect; that it's a savage, brutal punishment, one that serves no legitimate societal purpose, doing nothing more than exacting revenge and satisfying our blood lust.
Stories like this, however, prove the stupidity, the besides-the-point nature of their critique.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
Moments before she was slain last week on Chicago's Southwest Side, 17-year-old Charinez Jefferson begged the gunman not to shoot because she was pregnant, prosecutors said today.
Despite her plea, Timothy Jones, 18, opened fire on Jefferson anyway, yelling an expletive at her as he shot her in the head, prosecutors said. He then stood over her as she lay on the ground and fired several more times, striking her in the chest and back.
Jefferson was pronounced dead a short time later, but doctors were able to successfully deliver her baby boy, who remained in critical condition today, Assistant State's Attorney John Dillon said.
"Tests are expected to be performed to determine whether the child has any brain activity, as there are concerns over the child possibly suffering from oxygen deprivation after the victim had been shot," Dillon told Judge Laura Sullivan.
Sullivan denied bond for Jones, 18, who was charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 16 slaying.
[...]
Jones had seen Jefferson walking with a rival gang member in the 3000 block of West 64th Street and approached them in a car, Dillon said. He got out of the vehicle and fired at least one shot at the rival, who ran off, leaving Jefferson to fend for herself. After begging Jones for mercy, Jefferson was shot at "point-blank range," Dillon said.
Jones, of the 6300 block of South Rockwell Street, was arrested at his home Saturday after numerous witnesses identified him as the killer, according to information from prosecutors and court documents.
A police source said that Jones was a "stick-up man" well known to area police.
At the time of the shooting, Jones was serving 2 years of probation for a 2010 burglary conviction, Dillon said. He also has a "lengthy" juvenile record, including convictions for unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and burglary, Dillon said.
Stop and think a second about this soulless thug, already on probation for crimes committed while a juvenile.
I'll concede that the death penalty would likely do nothing to deter a piece of filth like this from committing a terrible crime. After all, what could possibly be a greater deterrent than a terrified, pregnant teenager begging for her life, the life of her baby?
To listen to the fear in her voice, see the horror and hope in her eyes as she tried to convince him not to pull the trigger, searching for a human connection, a glimmer of compassion.
Think of the kind of demon -- for there is no other way to describe such a being -- who could remain unmoved, even enraged by her pleas. Picture him as he considered for an all-too-brief moment walking away, his eyes flat, empty -- did they show any emotion at all before he shot her in the head, then stood over her body, swollen and large with the child she carried, and fired more shots into her chest and back?
There is no redemption.
There is no rehabilitation.
There is no possibility of a safe return to society.
The death penalty serves a useful purpose especially in cases like this, where we can collectively kill this mad dog, protect other, future victims from his murderous attentions, erase this stain from our world, forget his name.
But remember his crime. And remember his victims.
Charinez Jefferson, 17, and her now-motherless and possibly brain-damaged son.
Why the death penalty?
Because this crime demands it.
Posted by Mike Lief at August 22, 2011 07:41 PM
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Comments
I grew up on a farm where it is a necessity to put down an animal that has gone crazy and poses a danger to others, or to eliminate a predator. Whichever interpretation you chose to apply to this Jones, putting him down does not seem an unwarranted response.
Posted by: Stacy at August 28, 2011 11:42 AM