Off With Their Heads
The March 15, 2010 Statesman-Journal reported on the conviction and subsequent public hanging in 1865 of two murderers in Salem and that there was not another murder in Salem for more than 20 years thereafter. Maybe capital punishment does work, and maybe Texas (the execution capital of the country) and former Los Angeles Police Chief Ed Davis (“hijacker suspects should be tried at the airport in trial court trailers, have convictions reviewed by an appellate court, again in a trailer at the airport, have affirmances reviewed by the California Supreme Court, again sitting in a trailer at the airport, and have the convicted hijacker executed at the airport”) have it right.

While we are at it, let’s make more offenses, including drug offenses, capital crimes. Hold convicted drug users for long enough to make sure that the drugs are out of their systems (We don’t want to poison dogs), kill them and grind the bodies up for dog food. Save the whales. We also need to make homelessness (vagrancy) a capital crime.

Let’s also deport all illegal aliens immediately.

We need to recognize that there are too many people here already and find ways to rid our population of undesirables. As lawyers, we need to get started.

Peter M. Appleton, Salem

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