Dumbness is not a crime
But we sure treat it as one sometimes.
As Chris knows, I'm not opposed to capital punishment. I truly believe some people have violated all the provisions of their human membership. To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson in that crappy law movie, some people need killing. People like Jeffrey Dahmer, Pol Pot, and others who have clearly and purposely preyed on other humans just for the pure joy of it.
But as with many ideologically simple things, the application is where things go awry. Most people who are given a death sentence don't fit into my category of irredeemableness. That the death penalty was even considered for Juan Manuel Alvarez, the deeply stupid man whose suicide attempt derailed a Metrolink train killing 11 people, is one glaring example. It's astonishing enough that he was convicted of first degree murder, which ought to be reserved for those who intentionally kill people. But the death penalty shouldn't be a possibility for what was essentially an accident. If it were, the captain of the Exxon Valdez would have fried. Thank goodness the jury decided Alvarez didn't mean to kill anyone.
By all accounts, Alvarez was just one dumb dude who caused a horrific accident -- so bad that the state wanted to punish him by killing him too. That's not justice, that's revenge. In any case, dumbness isn't a crime. If it were, we would need a lot more jails.
That was a terrible tragedy, and I can understand the desire of the victim's families to not only see closure, but exact some form of revenge. And I agree that what Alvarez did was profoundly stupid. But he was communicating something as well.
Even from my distant vantage point, it is obvious the guy was thinking about suicide. Unfortunately he went about it in a manner that made the Keystone Cops look like the New England Patriots. And then there was the testimony of his mother describing years of abuse and perhaps even neglect.
What was he saying? "I am one sick puppy." Too bad someone didn't pick up on that long before the tragedy. I'm certain he had communicated that message many times in his life.