With Apologies for My Moral Certitude About The Appropriate Punishment for Beating an Eight Year Old to Death

Alan at Idablue chimes in with his typical relativistic post about the death of an 8 year old boy and my opinion that a grown man intentionally beating an 8 year old boy to death. He doesn’t like the fact that I cited God’s reasoning on the matter of murder and the death penalty by raising the specter of what happens in the case of an accidental death. God was pretty explicit in making an allowance for cities of refuge for those who committed accidental deaths to flee to. (Numbers 35: 11-24) You can read the whole thing. But it’s clear that what the Bible prescribes the death penalty for is the intentional, deliberate, and willful slaying of a human being. Alan also argues that “shedding the blood” of the murder doesn’t mean killing the murderer. Apparently, in Alan’s eyes, the Good Lord could have been talking about giving the killer a good papercut.

Our Daily Paper, finding as it does an undue amount of honor in pragmatism showers some undeserved praise on County Attorney Greg Bower for his decision not to pursue the death penalty through some bizarre logic. That the lengthy death penalty appeals process would cause discomfort to the family, and that it would be very expensive.

Translation: this eight year old just wasn’t worth the trouble. In life and death, Robert Manwill was alone. In life, if Mr. Bower is to believed, the one person who should have protected him became an accessory to his murder. In death, a weary bureaucrat won’t go to the trouble to ensure he receives justice because it’s all too terribly expensive. 

And so he came to his end, face up in a canal, and his death will be given a likely slap on the wrist.  Oh, you can expect a stern judge to give a lengthy sentence, but don’t expect that sentence to be served out. I would wager money that Robert’s killer will eventually walk out of jail free.

 Taxpayers will save money, liberals won’t have to wrestle with an issue they’re uncomfortable with. The killer will get a second chance at life probably in his forties, and maybe get to find another eight year old to take his frustrations out on.

The only loser in this case is justice.

On a related note,