Finally Something Chris and I might agree on...

Now if only he'd post his items on the blog and not under comments, our one reader...maybe two...could see his input.

News has came out that Gaddafi is dead. Last week, Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a raid in Yemen. Osama Bin Laden was taken out earlier this year. All were taken out by soldiers, whether they be the US military, or a rebel soldier who likes the Yankees...better than a Red Sox fan. God I hate the Red Sox...but I'll save that for a later post.

"You wanted me to be peaceful? I thought you were calling for a Big Mo' Rivera slider at his face"

Something about the way they died doesn't sit well with me. Don't get me wrong, I despised those guys. I remember doing more than a few fist pumps after hearing that Osama Bin Laden was killed...dude was a douche. All Americans were affected by 9/11 and Gaddafi was a straight up ass donkey. But, I despise child molesters, and would never condone the state killing them. Anwar al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico and grew up a US citizen. Even if you think capital punishment is justified, is it fair to execute an American citizen without a trial? You could argue that Gaddafi and Bin Laden were special cases considering the events surrounding their deaths. If you believe the media accounts, to say that Bin Laden was resisting arrest would be a massive understatement, he supposedly was taking pregnant women hostage, not a noble way to go out. Gaddafi was killed by the aforementioned Yankees fan after being wounded in a NATO air raid, an event outside of US control.

Anwar al-Awlaki was straight up killed in a drone raid, and so was his 17 year old cousin a couple of days later (a boy who was born in Denver, and is also a US citizen). Shouldn't we be taking this into account when ordering a raid? We're not at war with New Mexico and Colorado, these aren't foreign combatants, these are American citizens. Whether they deserve it or not, they have constitutional protections.

Personally, I don't support the death penalty, I find it barbaric and out of line for a civilized society. The countries that executed the most people in 2010, from first to fifth, were China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, USA. I don't find that a great list to be on, but state sanctioned murder is a debate for another day. If you believe that the state should execute law breakers, I understand the argument that Bin Laden and al-Awlaki deserved to die. Especially when you take into account who the US executes today, Bin Laden and al-Awlaki have committed more heinous crimes than most, if not all, executed convicts and should be subjected to the death penalty. But should a US citizen be executed without due process? At the very least should we have singled out al-Awlaki for a court trial for crimes against the state? Wouldn't it be more cathartic for the American people to have a trial and then execute them in a public hanging, wouldn't that have satisfied the US' blood lust?