No death penalty, but if they're guilty, never let them walk free again

Sometimes it is difficult to maintain consistency in one's beliefs.

I have worked hard to develop a consistent philosophy on life issues, and one that I have pretty much believed for most of my life is that I am opposed to capital punishment. There have been times when that is difficult for me. Sirhan Sirhan, for example. I think his murder of Bobby Kennedy did more to hurt our country than anything I can think of.

Imagine a country where Richard Nixon is never president, and the Vietnam War ends four or five years earlier. A lot changes. For one thing, Ronald Reagan probably never becomes president.

But I digress.

It's hard not to keep thinking about the shooting in Oklahoma, where three bored teenagers murdered an Australian baseball player the other day. I do feel obligated to point out that earlier media reports -- which I used yesterday -- showed the killers as three black kids. Apparently they showed the wrong Michael Jones; the correct one is white.

Is there redemption for people who do something so despicable? It's difficult to imagine.

Someone who did something not nearly as bad, but perhaps more notorious, spoke of life after infamy.

"I'm pretty sure I'll never get married. Can you imagine someone falling in love with me, taking me home to their parents and saying, 'I want you to meet Monica Lewinsky.'"

But is there truly redemption for vicious killers, especially ones who essentially did it just for fun? Or do they go on spreading evil, even while serving life without parole?

All I can say is, the reason we should not choose the death penalty isn't about them, it's about us. When we make the decision to take someone else's life, it cheapens us.

As for their possible redemption, we tend to go too easy on people. Serve a few years, write a book, make a very public apology (complete with tears) on Oprah. (The show, not the person) After that, they're free to run for Congress or open a popular restaurant.

Just another glimpse at the bullshit we call 21st century American culture.

True redemption for horrific acts -- if it is possible -- has nothing to do with how many times you say you're sorry before you get back to your old life. I think getting back to the old life is sort of out of the question.

It reminds me of one of the scariest books I ever read -- John Farris's "Son of the Endless Night."

In it, a college student is possessed by a powerful demon and commits truly gruesome murders. It's a complex problem, because while he physically committed the crimes, he had no mental involvement in them

He is acquitted of the crimes, but there is no way he can be part of society anymore. He goes to a remote monastery to do good works and serve penance for the rest of his life.

Somehow I don't see that happening here.

We're not really into the true penance thing.

But I remain consistent. If they're guilty, don't execute them. But don't ever let them walk free again. I have no desire to see what would happen the first time they got bored.