Today at work I received a fax asking me to vote as to whether or not I thought executions of criminals should be televised.  After seeing the Oscar award-winning movie, Gladiator, over the weekend, I am just sick thinking about this situation.   Are we to revert to Roman carnage for our entertainment?

            I have to admit that I am of the old school of “an eye for an eye” kind of punishment.  I think if punishment befit the crime, criminals would come to realize that the law was serious and crimes would decrease.  If I thought I would lose my hand if I stole, I’m positive I wouldn’t do the deed twice.   I also feel it is time that people take responsibility for their actions.  If you make a conscious decision to break the law, you should be punished for it.  I think rights should end for prisoners not like it is now when they have more rights in prison than when they are on the streets.  It is our tax dollars that provide for criminals and we should have some say about their “rights”.

            I do think that the one right that death row prisoners should retain is the right to privacy in their last minutes of life.  I would believe in our majority Christian society, most everyone would want to allow the last minutes of a criminal’s life for him to repent and to ask forgiveness.

            As I said before, this question reminds me of the entertainment provided in the Coliseum for the benefit of the Romans.  People, animals, slaves, political adversaries were killed in public for the entertainment of the Romans.  Our media has provided the O J trial, the death of the beloved Princess Di, a millionaire's marriage and annulment,  Survivor and Temptation Island for our viewing entertainment.  What will it be next?  “Death Row”, the series?

            “Yes, television fans, watch your favorite maniacal criminals executed before your eyes on live television.  Help with the countdown, five, four, three, two, one and press the imaginary button to help our law-breaking fiends into their initial step into eternity.”

            Or perhaps it could be put together like a game show where we could have various celebrities ask questions of three criminals and determine which one should die first.

            I envision Rosey O’Donnell asking Charles Manson just how many people he did have killed that infamous evening and which one did he enjoy the death of most.  Or perhaps, Roseanne asking Timothy Mcveigh if he had a hard-on when he plotted the destruction of the Oklahoma City building that took 168 lives.  I can just hear her cackling after that question.

            When and where do we draw the line on entertainment?  I don’t condone treating criminals with anything less that what a jury decides but I really can’t agree that it should be made public for the world to witness.

I don't know if you can read the sign but it says, "Gold for your teeth."  This was an actual store in Dayton, Ohio.  i don't know if it is still there.  I just loved this photo.  Didn't really have anything that fitted in with the blog.  I hope you enjoy the store.  And those of you from Dayton are, is it still there on west Main Street?