jon@dmcityview.com

Sickos tarnish an already sad memory

Isn't it odd that compassionate conservatives seem to misplace their Bibles every time some little girl gets raped and murdered? All these individuals can think to do is sink to the level of the despicable animals who committed these heinous acts. "Hang 'em high!" they cry. "Fry 'em," "Shoot 'em up with poison." Whatever you do, just make them pay. Oh yeah, and, most importantly, don't forget to turn on your cameras and microphones, because it's all an act.

This is outrageous! It has to stop! Is Sen. Larry McKibben angry about the brutal crimes committed against little Jetseta Gage? Oh, um, no. He's actually upset about how close his last election was. And now, following an extremely hollow and slanted Iowa Poll done by The Des Moines Register, which used the Gage girl's name when asking whether the death penalty should be reinstated and that, surprise, showed an overwhelmingly high number of our state's residents are ready to erect the gibbets and let folks like Roger Bentley swing until he pisses himself and turns blue, McKibben has found a horse he can attach his cart to.

Never mind that McKibben (who was against the death penalty when asked about the issue last year) tends to go whichever way the wind blows him, "This is a horrible crime and it changes minds," he said last week. The polling numbers helped, too, though, eh, senator?

After all, killing is a sin. It's right there in the Bible. No ambiguity to it whatsoever: Thou Shalt Not Kill. Not to mention, it costs millions more dollars to put someone to death than it does to keep them in prison for life. So for a God-fearing, fiscally fit man like McKibben who is grounded in solid values, something has to explain his about-face, right? It couldn't just be political could it?

Sadly enough, that's exactly what it is. And riding on the coattails of Jetseta Gage's rape and murder is disgustingly embarrassing, even for a guy like McKibben, who will do or say anything to keep in the public eye, to ensure that the next election won't be a nail-biter. The numbers, I'm sure the senator from Marshalltown has convinced himself, are just a coincidence. But rest assured, this will be THE issue when he and the rest of the bloodthirsty batch find their names on the ballot again. Forget about making Iowa a better place by cleaning up our drinking water, attracting new business, creating jobs and pouring money into our educational system. Should we kill people who rape and murder defenseless little girls? If you think so, vote McKibben.

But if McKibben and pals like Stewart Iverson, Jeff Lamberti and Chuck Larson truly had a conscience between them, they might want to think about creating laws stripping parental rights from individuals like Jetseta's mother, Trena, who left her daughter with a well-known miscreant who was also the brother of an individual who had already molested the little girl numerous times. If anyone's to blame, blame her. She threw the girl under the bus, pushed her in front of the train, whatever. And if they want to hang Bentley, Trena should be next.

Too harsh? Perhaps. But Jetseta's blood is on the hands of more than just Bentley, something any fool can see. Does Bentley deserve to be held in a wildly small and uncomfortable space for 23 hours a day while experiencing fierce beatings for the other hour by hardened cons twice his size? Without question. Should we spend the $2-plus million and sink to his level and execute him? Why would we? I mean, what's the point of doing so if he's never going to see the light of day again? We're already safe from him, and, believe me, he'll be feeling punished.

But the death penalty is a deterrent, McKibben and his cronies whine. The threat of the death penalty will make vicious criminals think twice. Honestly though, the death penalty is no deterrent. How could it be? Animals like Bentley, if anything, have proven their inability to be reasonable. "Gosh, if I rape and kill this little girl I might get the death penalty, so I probably shouldn't. Sorry, honey, I lost my head for a second there. Go ahead now. Run on home."

Believe it? Not even for a second. Sex offenders follow their wieners, the voices of their abusive mothers loudly singing in their heads and perhaps the neighbor's dog, not the laws dreamt up by folks like Larry McKibben, who insist they want to get tough on sex offenders when they can't even tell us where most of them live.

Good God, people, wake up. This has nothing to do with what is right and what is wrong. This has nothing to do with the punishment fitting the crime. What this is, in fact, is fading, ineffective politicians like McKibben parading the tattered memory of a poor, defenseless girl out for their own political gain. Guys like McKibben want this debated so those against the death penalty (or as he sees it: those who are pro child rapists and murderers) will have a permanent record on the matter, especially when Iowans are so ready to fire up that electric chair. It certainly would come in handy during the next election. Shucks, it would probably even get the Republicans back in the majority. So all those in favor of some baby killing say "aye." CV

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