Death in Utah

Ronnie Lee Gardner will die today,
Four bullets in his heart;
The state will kill him, in our name—
We all, then, play a part.
Though what he did was horrible,
I think it is a shame
The state will choose to kill as well
And do it in our name.


In a couple of hours, the state of Utah will shoot a murderer to death. Predictably, the news media are rubbernecking, presenting us with virtual views of the execution and all the details we have come to expect from executions... oh, wait, the media have ignored executions for the most part; they make lousy TV when there is no gunfire involved.

Cuttlestate also still has the death penalty on the books, but has not used it for a while. There is a possibility they will, soon, though. Which, seeing as our government is of, by, and for the people, will make me a killer.

I'd rather not be. It was bad enough when Gardner did it.