Last Words
The New York Times had an op-ed piece about executed prisoners' last words from the state of Texas. It quoted a few of the inmates, and had a link to the actual Texas Department of Justice Website's records of all executed prisoners' statements.
It's not often that one thinks about life and death. I've thought long and hard about it when Andy died in Iraq. I thought about it when my grandfather died. I think about it every time it's 9/11.
By the way, the Arlington Cemetery aggregated all the news articles related to Andy's death and posted some pictures as well. The memory will live on forever.
But surprisingly, many of the last words by the prisoners were of grief, of sorrow, and of asking for forgiveness. I guess we can all use a little forgiveness, even the most hardened criminals.
It also puts a human touch to the State of Texas' worst offenders. But somehow, we feel uneasy about that. Perhaps it's easier on us if we think of them as monsters and machines, not flesh and blood. We want them to be psychopaths and orphans, not sons or fathers. We don't want any connection with them, even though they are just as human as we are.
Because otherwise, it becomes too complicated.
Comments (2)
i guess in a morbid, but real sense, we are all on our way to dying. i hope those people know that they are forgiven because Christ first forgave us.
see u in a few weeks!
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