While on parole in 1992, after having spent 11 years in prison for the rape of a 15-year-old girl and the attempted murder of a 14-year-old girl, Roberto Arguelles kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed 42-year-old Margo Bond, 13-year-old Stephanie Blundell, 16-year-old Lisa Martinez and 14-year-old Tuesday Roberts.
On June 27, Arguelles was supposed die in a hail of bullets at the Utah State Prison.
In one last act of democratic principle, the state of Utah allows prisoners on death row to choose between a firing squad or lethal injection as the vehicle to transport them to their final destination.
In arguably the sanest decision of Arguelles’ life, he chose to be shot.
Unfortunately, Arguelles’ execution has been postponed by a judge so a series of psychiatrists can determine if this man-who was already analyzed by psychiatrists and declared sane-is insane.
In the meantime, the American Civil Liberties Union folks are having kittens over Arguelles’ potential means of death. Cruel and unusual punishment, they say. Barbaric, they say.
Good riddance, I say.
Anybody who knows me personally or through my columns would never make the mistake of labeling me a conservative. Well, I hope all of you have an eraser.
When the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976, it did so with hopes it would deter violent crime. Since then, 38 states have adopted the death penalty as a viable means of punishing those who kill or rape.
It’s time for the last 12 states to get on board.
But I say, go one further. You want to bash a girl’s face in with a hammer and then rape her as she lies bleeding? A bullet or a lethal shot for punishment? How about a hammer from Home Depot and a broomstick?
I know, in a civilized country like ours, solving crime by committing it is backwards and democratically incongruous. But I also know that if my child or elderly parent was on the receiving end of a crime committed by a man like Arguelles, I would be hard- pressed not to commit a felony myself.
Capital punishment can never be a deterrent to violent crime so long as violent criminals are dispatched humanely. Gandhi said “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Byzantine leader Hammarabi said, “an eye for an eye.”
I truly believe every human life is sacred, from the bag lady at Wal-Mart to the Pope himself. I truly believe a vast majority of people in this world believe that too. For those who don’t, why bother with jail sentences or little sterilized needles?
Arguelles was judged by his actions, and he should now die for them. Instead, a judge has allowed him to live a little while longer, and four families must wait a little while longer for the man who killed their loved ones to die.
God Bless America.