In memory of
Timothy James McVeigh
The bombing which took place in April 1995 at the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has, six years later, taken its final victim, Timothy McVeigh. He was executed today, June 11, 2001, at the Federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
What Timothy McVeigh did six years ago in Oklahoma City was at the very least horrible, but also unconscionable and without any fathomable reason. The loss of these 168 innocent people was totally unnecessary; they did not have to suffer for one man's action against a government that he ceased to respect. It goes without saying that the people responsible for this terrorist act had to be punished. One man cannot decide who lives or dies just to prove a point, or to express a belief or concern. However, this is the same for Timothy McVeigh's sentence, and subsequent execution.
We can no longer keep killing people who commit heinous crimes to prove that they were wrong, or to attempt to "make it right". "Thou shalt not kill" is pretty cut and dried. It doesn't say "Thou shalt not kill, unless he kills first, in which case it's ok". Timothy McVeigh's death did not bring any of the bombing victims back, nor did it bring any reasonable closure to any of the victims' families. Any attempt by any of these people, or anyone else for that matter, to say that they are pleased with this execution are going to have to answer to the same powers that Timothy McVeigh has to answer to, wherever he may have gone.
I cannot say where Timothy McVeigh has gone, nor can anyone else. One of the victim's relatives was heard to say that he is sure Timothy McVeigh is in Hell. Oh? Who is he to judge? After the initial execution was delayed, a survivor was shown crying in a television interview. She did not get her "justice" when she thought she was going to get it. Well, as of today, everybody who was affected by the bombing has their blood. Everyone who took the time to attend the viewing of the execution by closed-circuit has their vengeance, and if they claim to be happy or at peace with this, I hope their consciences allow them to sleep well.
Now again, I totally feel for everyone who lost a family member or members in the Murrah building. You are entitled to your pain, and even to your anger. However, nobody is entitled to vengeance. No, I have not lost anyone to a tragedy such as this. But yes, I can say that my convictions would not be changed were the shoes on my feet. I would expect this man to be punished, but I would not want his proverbial head on a platter to make things better. I also cannot say that I practice any form of religion on a regular basis, but I would like to think that there is a God out there, or at least some form of higher power that's responsible for all we see around us. Regardless, I do like to think that I know right from wrong, and as a nation whose Constitution and Declaration of Independence were formed under Christian beliefs, we have to learn compassion, in all situations, from trivial to extreme; to forgive, if not forget; and to love our neighbor, turning the other cheek when we are wronged in any way. I've been hearing "he got what he deserved" a lot. To say without reservation what we feel someone deserves is to judge, and we cannot judge, lest we be judged ourselves.
Timothy McVeigh was a man in need of guidance, and needed to be given the opportunity to learn that what he did was wrong in every way imaginable; to be rehabilitated, if possible. If he never learned from his mistake, so be it. The act he commited was evil, but that did not necessarily make him evil. From how I've heard family members talk, there was never any reason to suspect that he would have done anything like this. Unfortunately, that's usually how it goes with people who commit crimes such as this. If we cannot prevent the act by looking at the symptoms before the act is committed, then we have nobody to blame at first but the criminal. However, if we choose to execute this person, then his reasoning goes with him to the grave, and we will never figure out why he did what he did. At that point we can blame nobody but ourselves. Similar acts will be commited some other day by similar people, and our government in its current form will continue to murder those who murder, exacting its "civilized" vengeance in the name of the God they claim to follow. We cannot be so arrogant as to think that all laws written by man have God's stamp of approval.
Our questionably-elected President went on TV shortly after the execution and made an attempt to justify the events of the day by saying that justice was served, not vengeance. Sorry, Dub-yah. All we did here today is make yet another black spot on our country in the eyes of the world; a world in which most countries already comdemn the death penalty, and who now more than ever look on us as being just as barbaric as our history has shown. All we did today was double the grief of another family, who had already lost their son to the crime he chose to commit. Things gotta change, Mr. President, and they gotta change soon. World peace comes when everyone, everywhere, shares common beliefs and practices of morality; not when we "agree to disagree".
I realize this is all one man's opinion. Some may share my opinion, and I know more will not. What I wanted to demonstrate to people is that it's possible to express views and concerns without violence and hatred. There is a debate within my words for or against the prison system, and whether or not we should continue to house criminals for life sentences at the taxpayers' expense...but that is another debate. I have attempted to keep this mainly as a view regarding the death penalty, and other aspects of this subject.
As before, this message is dedicated to the memory of all the people lost in the Oklahoma City bombing, and also its final victim, Timothy McVeigh. His life was no more or less precious than his victims, but we chose to throw him by the wayside in the name of revenge. He deserves to be remembered not as just a criminal, but as a man who did not receive the guidance needed to make better decisions. We also need to understand that his family will remember him as their son, their brother, someone who was an integral part of their lives...and they will miss him just as much as the other 168 are missed by their loved ones. It is my hope that we will pray for the McVeigh family as we would pray for the families of the bombing victims. May God bless and forgive us.
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