The law of the land is due process, even for awful people
I say we scalp him, then we tattoo him, then we hang him, then we kill him.
I’m talking about Pee-Wee Herman, of course. That’s what you get for knocking over all those motorcyclists’ bikes in “Big Top Pee Wee.”
And when it comes to this terrorist idiot we just captured — not going to dignify him with a name — many of us have the same feeling. Scalp, tattoo, hang, kill.
And there’s a good argument for that. Treat him like a enemy on our shores. Sen. Lindsey Graham is advocating we hold him as an enemy combatant. This would strip him of many of his rights.
Except you know what? That’s not the way we do it with citizens of America, of which this terrorist asshat is. We simply can’t toss out the Constitution. We have to let due process play out in this case and in all terror cases that involve United States citizens. What other choice do we have? Well, I guess we can throw out due process. And while it would feel good, I just don’t think that’s what we should be doing. We need to stay above the enemy, and by letting the process play out, we do that.
We send criminals to jail. In some states, we send criminals to the electric chair. You want to make an argument terror suspects should be executed if found guilty? I’ll listen A police officer stands guard at a section of Times Square closed off to pedestrians after the bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood, Sunday in New York.
to that argument. But that’s not the law, and that’s why we need to pump the brakes with the scalping, tattooing, hanging, and killing.
Does this make us pansies? Hardly. It makes us, for lack of a better term, the bigger man. We’re America, and we need to always hold the moral high ground. Our justice system, however imperfect, is that moral high ground. Terrorist attacks push people toward the brink of hysteria as our minds flash back to September 11, 2001.
Many desire instant revenge as retribution for alleged suspects and their killer attitudes.
However, any affront to decency by terrorists, rapists and murderers requires that we follow U.S. laws that provide a fair trial.
Many people would enjoy terrorizing alleged bomb planter Ahmad Khan Rahami.
What’s your torture du jour?
Pull off his fingernails then dip his appendages in salt and lemon juice?
Drill holes into his teeth a la Dustin Hoffman punishment in that almost unbearable scene from “Marathon Man”?
Maybe inflict pain to his genitals. Either cut off his testicles or expose his junk to fire ants.
Ultimately, our bloodthirsty appetite points toward capital punishment.
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees a citizen a speedy trial, a fair jury, an attorney if the accused person wants one, and the chance to confront accusers and witnesses.
We may want a different resolution but our nation demands no circumvention of the Bill of Rights.
Ahmad Khan Rahami mirrors Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, Aurora theater shooter, James Eagan Holmes and all other terrorists who shared an entitlement to trial.
As individuals or a country, we must maintain our humanity and extend patience even in the face of indecency.
Regardless, without any people dead from Ahmad Khan Rahami’s terrorist attacks, a guilty verdict means no immediate death for this loser.