Dylann Roof — the face of evil
I’ve been wavering in my support for the death penalty in recent years — repeated stories of people wrongfully convicted ending up on death row wore me down. Once the state has executed someone, there’s no going, whoops, we made a mistake, so sorry about that. But, then, along comes an incident like the murder of nine African-American church goers in Charleston, S.C., and I think, there are crimes so heinous and unforgivable that death is the only appropriate redress.
We’re finding out now that the suspected killer, Dylann Roof, was a loner. He had emotional problems. He was taking a drug, suboxone, which has been connected with sudden outbursts of aggression. I’m sure he’ll find some lawyer who will plead that it wasn’t his fault, the drug made him do it.
Now, Roof deserves his day in court to present a defense, but based on what we know now there are no facts that can possibly mitigate the horror of the crime he committed. Roof had been delving into racist ideologies and ranting about injustices to the white race. He then took it upon himself to go to a black church and sit in a bible study class for an hour before shooting and killing nine people. “I have to do it,” he allegedly said. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
If the act transpired as portrayed in the media, it could not possibly have been more calculated and premeditated. While Roof may have been emotionally disturbed, he displayed total clarity of mind. The appropriate response to such a crime is to expunge him from the face of the earth.
Update: Heart wrenching beyond words: “The man suspected of killing nine people at a historically black Charleston church told police that he ‘almost didn’t go through with it because everyone was so nice to him,'” reports MSNBC. The statement demonstrates that he clearly knew right from wrong. No excuses. Definitely time for South Carolina to warm up the electric chair.
— JAB
