THE DEATH OF EXECUTIONS

On Monday, The (less than) Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the use of lethal injection to carry out the death penalty in Kentucky. If you're interested in the details, let me save you the trouble .... Justices Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Alito, and probably Kennedy will vote to let them continue this barbaric practice. I say this only because they've continuously shown that, if Bush likes it, they like it. My disdain for the current court, however, is not the issue I wish to discuss. Rather, this case got me thinking about death penalty in general and how its time has passed. As in the case of illegal immigration, people have rather strong feelings about the death penalty. And also like the immigration debate, I'm surprised at the number of those on the left who lean more conservative in this area. For now, though, it seems that the country is crawling to my way of thinking as the number of executions in 2007 dropped to a 13-year low. I'd like to see the number be zero.

It seems to me that the argument against the death penalty can really be broken down into two main categories: logical and emotional. Let's start out with the logical ...

IT DOESN'T PREVENT CRIME - I think the evidence is pretty clear that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent for criminals. If someone is inclined to commit a murder, for example, they don't take a breath first and weigh the pros and cons of committing said crime because the death penalty might be an option.

WE KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE - Even if you're a fan of the death penalty, you can't have a soul and not be troubled by the number of death row inmates being freed as a result of DNA evidence. If one innocent person is executed, that is unacceptable to me. Well, guess what? ... It's a great deal more than one. And just saying it never happens -- as Bush did in the 2000 debates -- does not make it so.

IT MAKES US LOOK BACKWARDS -- Did you know that over 90 percent of the world's executions are performed in China, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Iran? Is this really the type of company we want to keep? Much of the world ended the death penalty a long time ago, and the fact that we still do it hurts our ability to work with more enlightened nations. In a time where rebuilding our reputation is so important, why hold on to this outdated ritual?

IT'S EXPENSIVE - I don't want to get too bogged down with numbers, because I'm sure there are many ways to slice the data. However, by one account, "death penalty cases are estimated to generate roughly $470,000 in additional costs to the prosecution and defense over the cost of trying the same case as an aggravated murder without the death penalty and costs of $47,000 to $70,000 for court personnel." You want to subtract $10,000 here or there, fine. But the question is whether the money we spend is worth any "benefit" we might receive. Clearly, it's not.

I'm sure we will -- and should -- argue over the above list. But let me go to the more emotional and less tangible side of the debate. My gut tells me that the death penalty is something performed by uncivilized peoples, and as Stephen Colbert says: there are more nerves in your gut than in your head. I, of course, can't prove what I am about to say, but I would bet my shrinking paycheck that 100 years from now, President George Bush IV will look back at the death penalty as a horrible embarrassment in America's rich history.

And he will think this while attending his son's gay marriage.