No purpose to executions

One of the first adult jobs I had was that of a lab assistant in Philadelphia. I worked for a pair of French physicians, who routinely sacrificed lab rabbits, injected with ball bearings in their carotid arteries in order to produce strokes. They then studied the rabbit brains to learn how to prevent or ameliorate strokes in humans. I had to dispose of their remains.

Every time I read of a human electrocution, I flash back to that. In addition, we have neighbors who own a tame bunny who roams the neighborhood and can sometimes be petted. It also reminds me of those noble but unfortunate animals. Their deaths may serve a purpose to man, but none to fellow rabbits.

What purpose, though, does the execution of alleged murderers serve other than revenge for the families of survivors? These acts are inhumane, sometimes vicious and always immoral. In addition, they cannot be undone or ease the errors, which happen in 1 percent to 4 percent of executions, according to the inspector general of the U.S. Justice Department.

I’ve helped send dozens of murderers and one traitor to the gas chamber or gurney. I frequently dream about the investigations that led to these. Was I right or wrong? Were the prosecutors overzealous? Could the offenders have appropriately been punished in another way?

Novels and TV cop shows seldom portray policemen as victims of their own justified arrests. But many are.

Victor Buksbazen

Spokane