In the year 1865, amidst the dry heat of a territorial Arizona, Dolores Moore was executed for killing her husband. She was the first documented execution in the state.
Growing up in a part of the world where “Proof of Life” is a part of adult conversations and instructions on what to do if strangers approach you are common, one would think I could be more cavalier about this.
I can’t.
When Squink and I heard on the radio, while driving home, about the prolonged execution of Joseph Wood. My first thought was; “I killed a man today”. As a resident on this state, that is what happened.
I sat at red and green lights on the route home, trying to make sense of the huge responsibility that having a death penalty means. The two people he killed were at the forefront of my thoughts, and this all swirled into one huge confusing mind meld.
As I was trying to see if I had any real and concrete resolution (a personal one that is) I was fielding questions from Squink about what had happened and why he took so long to die.
I knew nothing about this case, and just looked at a little bit of what is available online so I could feel like I have done enough research to feel comfortable enough to post this entry.
The truth is I don’t have any answers.
Death is very much a part of being human, and death takes many forms and frankly most of them are not pretty… and I just don’t know how I feel about the death penalty… I just know that I am a little sad at the notion that yesterday I, and all my fellow Arizona residents, took the life of someone and I don’t know that it made us any better as a community in the long run.
There is a huge dark side to the complete context of civil service.