What are we doing when we care more about predators than their victims?
The wheels of justice turn pretty fast UNLESS you’re on death row for a brutal, heinous crime such as the late Dennis McGuire who was exterminated Jan. 16, 2014, some 25 years after his crimes. But, the family got their lawsuit against the state of Ohio and the drug maker filed within eight days of the execution.
As printed in the Inter Lake newspaper, Dennis McGuire’s daughter referred to witnessing the execution of her father, the “nice” guy rapist and murderer of Joy Stewart, a 22-year-old pregnant newlywed, as the most awful moment in her life.
She described it as “torture” because the execution took 25 minutes.
Gee, her father even made loud “snorting” noises and he gasped several times.
I read that he even “clinched” his fist during the ordeal.
McGuire’s defense attorney, Allen Bohnert, called it a “failed, agonizing experiment. Personally, I don’t see that it failed since McGuire IS, in fact dead. The lawyer also stated that the folks in Ohio should be appalled at what was done.
I’ll tell you what’s REALLY appalling, Allen Bohnert:
• Joy Stewart’s name is only mentioned one time in the article in the paper.
• She was 22 years of age and pregnant, raped, sodomized, her throat was slit, she was dumped in a field and not found for two days, and neither the killer’s family nor the attorneys even show any remorse about the horrible act this man committed. It’s all about the 25 minutes of a little pain and a giant lawsuit.
• This kidnapping, torture, and murder of this young lady was committed in 1989.
• The sentence was carried out 25 years after the crimes were committed.
• The director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is cheering because this case will increase the number and galvanize those who oppose capital punishment and will say, “What are we doing?”
• No mention of the horrible act committed by Dennis McGuire, only about 25 minutes of possibly some pain.
• No mention of Joy Stewart and nothing about the pain of being raped, the pain of being sodomized by this animal, no mention of the pain and the gasping for breath and the gurgling while the blood was escaping from her throat after being slit by this barbaric monster, and no mention of the mental trauma she must have experienced knowing while this attack was happening to her that no doubt, her unborn child’s possibility for life was about to end.
“WHAT ARE WE DOING?”
Let me tell that director of the National Coalition exactly what we are doing:
• We’ve enabled this horrible predator to pleasure himself for nearly 25 years recalling the sick fun of his murderous action.
• We’ve allowed him and his attorneys to mock and ridicule our judicial system.
• We’ve allowed him to bring continued pain and suffering to the family of Mrs. Stewart.
• You’ve allowed McGuire, his family, and the attorneys to elaborate the significance of the 25 minutes Dennis McGuire experienced and to overshadow and slight the pain and suffering that he put Mrs. Stewart through during the horrible act that he committed against the lady and her unborn child.
“WHAT ARE WE DOING”!
Think about Richard Allen Davis, kidnapper, rapist and murderer of Polly Klass, a defenseless 12-year-old innocent child. He was sentenced to death in 1996. Now going on 18 years of “pleasuring” himself after the crimes. This animal is still alive.
Think about Joseph Edward Duncan, kidnapper, molester, rapist and murderer of as many as 10 victims, mostly defenseless children. Some were beaten and killed with a hammer. This animal is still alive and “pleasuring” himself at our expense nearly nine years after his sentence was handed down.
Think about Montana’s own Ronald Allen Smith, 31 years of “pleasuring” himself after killing Harvey Mad Man and Thomas Running Rabbit just for the hell-uv-it. This animal is still “pleasuring” himself.
This depiction could be a little graphic for most folks but really, how about the victims and the acts and horrible crimes against them? I think we should place more value on the victims and particularly the DEFENSELESS children and send a message to all these perverts that if you molest, rape, and kill any of our children and we can prove it, you’re gonna die quickly and then DO IT.
If that makes for an awful moment for the family of the criminal, then that too is the fault of the criminal… not the judicial system. But, this is not to say that sometimes the judicial system doesn’t fail and let these predators run loose.
I guess I come by my feelings pretty honestly because like Ron White the comedian says on his shows, “I’m from Texas and in Texas “we have the death penalty.” And “WE USE IT.”
“WHAT ARE WE DOING” letting these sexual predators kill our defenseless, precious children? We must protect them. If we don’t, who can they look to?
Jones is a resident of Kalispell.