I
didn’t celebrate the execution of Osama bin Laden, and it was an execution.
Maybe the man needed to die. I don’t know, and it is way above my pay grade. However,
I would like to point out bin Laden was a man, and the celebration of his death
was offensive not only to his followers, but to me as well. We, as human beings are better than that. People, even arguably bad people, should be mourned. If nothing
else, we should mourn that our community has come to this.
But
that was an execution. We’re going to talk about a suicide. I have strong
feelings about suicide for a variety of reasons none of which I’m going to go
into much. Just that suicide is an expression of hopelessness, and I’m always
torn on whether it is an “easy” way out. Maybe it is for some people, people
like Ariel Castro.
According
to AP,
Ariel Castro killed himself by hanging around 9:20 pm Tuesday at the
Correctional Reception Center in Orient. As a reminder Castro, kidnapped three
women (Berry, DeJesus, and Knight), keeping them for a decade, repeatedly
raping and torturing them. I have written about Castro several times all of
those pieces should demonstrate I have no love for the man, no forgiveness, no
sympathy. That said I was against capital punishment in his case (or anyone’s).
Castro was not on suicide watch while in the correctional facility at this
point; he had been taken off it in June. Castro was sentences to life in prison plus 1,000 years
after he plead guilty to 937 counts. I know the death penalty was considered, but fortunately not pursued. I'm not in favor of the death penalty at all. However, in this case specifically it would have been for the murder of the unborn, which could have huge anti-choice consequences in Ohio. Also, there seems to be a movement on Facebook about how Castro's suicide saves Ohio taxpayers money. This is a valid though disturbing argument because I don't think we should place a value on any human life. However, I never want to hear from these people again if they are more concerned by saving money over human life because the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison.
My
Facebook feed blew up Wednesday morning, when the news spread that Castro took
his own life mostly with people celebrating his death. There seems to be two
schools of thought: the first, Castro deserved to die and who cares how it
happens and the second is that Castro didn’t deserve to die because he should
suffer in captivity the way he held his victims captive. I don’t really prescribe
to either of these. While, I’m more sympathetic to the later I’m not ready to
celebrate anyone’s death. Additionally, because Castro was already convicted
and in prison, I’m not sure what is gained here. Knight had mentioned Castro
would suffer through incarceration. And while, I don’t believe rehabilitation
would have been possible in this case, there was a possibility we could learn something from
Castro, specifically, how someone is capable of committing such horrific acts
and how to prevent this kind of situation in the future.
I
really don’t condone the killing of others. Because Castro, as awful as he was,
was a person. He had children and a family, and while they may never forgive
him for the acts he committed, and may have lived in fear of him, shouldn’t they have the opportunity to decide
how they want their interactions to be with him? In the end, he is a person who
has the right to live. Had one of the women he held captive killed him in
self-defense I would obviously be more receptive to that.
Finally,
I spent a lot of time trying to reconcile someone who is completely self-absorbed
and convinced of his own omnipotence could resort to suicide. I did a little research
because that is what I do, and one of
the things I found suggested that sociopaths (Castro fit this definition) may
have had to confront his loss of privilege and control may seek to end their
lives. Thus once he realized his horrific game was over, he had no purpose.
I
feel no relief that Castro is dead. I felt relief when he was arrested and
sentenced. His death almost feels like he’s cheating the world out of his
punishment and anything we may have been able to learn from him. I guess it
feels like anytime someone takes their own life when not terminally ill and suffering, a
waste. I can’t think of a time or situation where I will ever celebrate the
death of another person.
Connie Schultz put it best, "We don't want 'closure.' We want amnesia." It all feels very Midwest to me, just forget about it because once someone one is no longer present, his crimes seem less, something that will become some sort of urban legend in a few years. We can all go back to our lives instead of looking at our selves, our communities, and our society where this was aloud to happen. Instead of asking how do we live in a society that didn't look for Knight because she was over eighteen? No, now we call all forget. Because nothing like this will ever happen again, right?
Connie Schultz put it best, "We don't want 'closure.' We want amnesia." It all feels very Midwest to me, just forget about it because once someone one is no longer present, his crimes seem less, something that will become some sort of urban legend in a few years. We can all go back to our lives instead of looking at our selves, our communities, and our society where this was aloud to happen. Instead of asking how do we live in a society that didn't look for Knight because she was over eighteen? No, now we call all forget. Because nothing like this will ever happen again, right?
Ariel Castro tried to downplay his victims being imprisoned for a decade, but he could only last a couple months in better conditions.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) September 4, 2013
