A final word about the pending Grossman execution. Time is running out and I doubt his life will be spared. The execution is scheduled for 6:00 Pm Eastern time tomorrow night. I have not changed my view. I think his life should be spared for all the reasons I said.But…
Anyone who reads an account of the grisly murder and does not want to ‘pull the switch’ themselves (or in this case inject the needle) is not human. It turns my stomach. Here is an excerpt from the Associated Press republished at VIN:
Her life ended suddenly on Dec. 13, 1984, after she happened upon two teenagers in the woods with a stolen gun. One of them, Martin Edward Grossman, then 19, brutally beat Park with her flashlight and, prosecutors said, finished her off with a shot to the back of the head from her own gun. He was convicted of first-degree murder.
Interestingly in another VIN news item - Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, has weighed in on this. He sent Florida's Governor Crist a letter which can be viewed at VIN. Therein he argues that Halachic parameters used in adjudicating capital cases - upon which western civilization bases its own laws - be utilized here as well. In the days where a Beis Din decided death penalty cases every opportunity was exhausted up to the very last moment to spare a convicted person’s life. He asked that this be done here as well:
New evidence has surfaced in this case and changes in the law have taken place that merit consideration of clemency. I am convinced that there is sufficient cause to at least delay this execution until all evidence and legal arguments are presented.
My brain tells me he’s right. But my heart is with those who want to see him executed. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard.
