The Last Cigarette

 Trump is going to allow firing squads for executions. Clearly, this is to satiate the bloodlust of his Maga faithful and give his regime the appearance of being all into law & order, but there is more afoot. There always is. Twenty-seven states allow capital punishment, but six of those are under moratoriums and not currently allowed to kill anyone. Does Trump's Kingly edict override all fifty states? Who knows when a republic gives way to a fascist monarchy overnight? It's hard to keep up with the changes when they come via a social media site or Executive Orders. 

Personally, my beef with capital punishment is that it is too final. You make legal missteps and put a person in prison for life; you can give that person their life back when new evidence shows they were innocent. If you execute them, you can't. I don't generally have compassion for murderers even though there might be very good reasons to take another's life. These United States are chockful of laws giving citizens the right to kill, that interestingly supersede the state's ability to kill. I think it's Tennessee that is currently working on a law where you can kill a person for merely being on your property when you don't want them to be. You needn't demonstrate that they were at all a threat to you, for you to take their life. They would just have to be there: lost, delivering a pizza to the wrong house, taking a shortcut home- whatever. Fill in the blank. If passed, those blanks will be filled in with lead in the future. Many states already have versions of Castle Doctrine, Stand Your Ground that legalize killing other humans. This war on humanity is really accelerating. Got to wonder why?

A lot of death row inmates have requested death by firing squad over the years. These guys- usually it is guys getting killed- may feel it's more romantic or dignified to die by the gun, rather than the electric chair, gas chamber or the now more common, lethal injection. All methods of execution are quite brutal, and none are as pain-free and quick as the prisoner might like. The possible exception might be the firing squad. Typically, five men with rifles fire a single volley of rounds into a man strapped into a chair. They aim for the chest. One of the five executioners is firing a blank round to ease the consciouses of the other four, making them think they maybe didn't actually take the guy's life. They were just there. I don't know about that. These executioners are all volunteers and usually cops who are proficient in shooting. I bet they know, and I doubt they really care. 

I also doubt Trump gave it a moment's thought, but I have heard for a long time now that the drug used for lethal injections is quite scarce. There have been delays in executions simply because the required drug was not available. Time is money; delays are expensive. Bullets are readily available. Firing squads might seem to be a no-brainer to a guy who is a no-brainer. He might be right. If the state has to kill someone as punishment, the firing squad is the cheapest, least cruel and likely most final way to do it.

It's being presented as an option at the choice of the prisoner, in the state's that allow capital punishment. However, as with all things Trump, that's for now. Subject to change based on the last person he talked to. You never know with this guy. After all he was "the peace president" who ran on "No More Wars", changed the Department of Defense to The Department of War, and got us into a ridiculous war with Iran. He can really blur the lines of mixed messages. 

Where does it end with him? The US incarcerates more people than any country on the planet. We are currently resuming the airborne executions of alleged drug couriers using boats in southern waters. There is no due process of law involved whatsoever. They are just blowing boats out of the water and saying they were delivering drugs- drugs that would surely kill millions of Americans. It sounds like Maga republicans extrapolating the *necessary* death of a homeless guy sleeping in your yard. "He's homeless. He's desperate. He has already committed the crime of trespassing. What is to stop him from killing you and your sweet, white family- but your own proactive action?" Well, for legal purposes they leave out the "white" part, but we all know what they mean. 

On the surface, execution by firing squad may seem like a viable option, but they are thinning the herd here, as Project 2025 dictates. I've got to believe this will accelerate. Trump has long admired Duerte's death squads that sought out drug dealers in the Philippines. Now we're doing that in the waters of the southern hemisphere. Why not do it on land, at home? Same with immigration. Though entering the country without permission is a civil offense, to Maga it's a crime that needs no due process to achieve incarceration or deportation. What could possibly come next? Like Rahel Maddow says, "Watch what they say".  Past IS prologue.