Back to a familiar topic for me, the death penalty and international relations. It's a recurring tune, some wicked person comes here from another candyass country and commits a horrific crime. The felon was raised in a land where killing wasn't specifically encouraged, but was nonetheless tolerated to the extent that the would-be felon believed they wouldn't be called to account for their deeds. This case involved a man named Javier Medina from a land infamous for its corrupt prison system, Mexico. Medina probably thought that being involved with a powerful drug gang he would be able to pay off the guards, get a cushy cell or even be released in short order. Just one fatal mistake, he committed his murder on the wrong side of the Rio Grande!
On the Texas side of the river, crime is punished. People too unfit to exist in human society are put down EXACTLY like the dogs that they are. Texas no longer uses guns or ropes, they just put the murderers to sleep.
That's not big news, not really worth writing about, Texas does it almost every single day (sometimes twice a day!). What makes Senor Medina noteworthy is that his government came rushing to the aid of this, SELF-ADMITTED, cop killer. I guess with the number of corrupt cops in Mexico, they can't afford to get worked up very much about a drug-dealer who kills somebody, even a policeman. The citizens of the state of Texas think differently. In Texas it is considered bad form to kill people and police are no exception. The surprising thing is that Medina lived long enough to face lethal injection. In days gone by, cop-killers usually died trying to escape or committed suicide by shooting themselves five or six times (in the back) at a range of 10 to 20 feet. Javier got a painless death after being allowed to speak with his family, priest and relatives of his victim.
And for those among you who say, "The death penalty is bad because you might execute an innocent person." I say, this person was UNDENIABLY guilty. His statement was something like "I didn't know he was a cop, he didn't have a sign or anything." Gee, I guess it would have been OK if it was just another person?
What about the notion that minorities are executed too often and that if Javier had only been wealthy or powerful that he would have gotten a pass? Well, he was part of a group that has ass-loads of money and he received PERSONAL assistance from the president of Mexico himself, Vicente Fox!!! Can you believe that? President Fox intervened to try to get a cop killer off?
Sorry Javi, if only you had killed a Mexican policeman, perhaps President Fox could have gotten you a pass. Or, if you just didn't do it in Texas. Not every state in America has the courage and fortitude to see criminals punished. If you had killed in Wisconsin, they would have bent over gladly for the Mexican government. Hell, Vicente wouldn't even have to ask, Wisconsin accepts killers and puts them up at taxpayer expense for life (or until something "bad" happens in the prison.) They'd probably think they were getting a bargain if President Fox would allow them to send you back. Of course, then you'd be eligible for early release and could be back pushing drugs in Texas in a year or too. That's why it's better this way. We can't be sure that capital punishment will deter OTHERS from killing, but we can all be certain that Javier Medina will never, EVER, kill another policeman.