WE LOVE YOU TO DEATH KARLA

by

Keith Taylor, DipsyDmstr

The following was originally posted on the Atheist Nation

Every now and then I get on my high horse and sneer at those lower types who gather outside prison walls and cheer (or cry) when some poor dude is being executed by the state. From my lofty vantage point I disdain all the plebeian demonstrations, even to the extent of refusing to watch such a spectacle on TV.

Yet there I was, my eyes on the boob tube, as Texas offed its 145th person since the Supreme Court cleared the way for state sanctioned killings. This time I had an excuse. They were going to kill a woman! Karla Faye Tucker would be the first Lone Star woman executed since the Civil War.

And that wasn't all. Pat Robertson, that moral leader of all he surveys, had taken up the cause of the "pickax killer." Finally, there was a ray of hope for the comely lass who had found Jesus in a jail cell! Surely Robertson, the fellow who saved his own state, Virginia, from the wrath of a hurricane (it crashed instead on the evil shores of Long Island) could save one little, repentant lady from the wrath of Texas.

This was the stuff great TV was made of, and they tried. One cable channel blocked out several hours to cover it exclusively and to sell lots of laxatives. Its reporters referred often to Robertson, and quoted his concern for the lady who had waited 14 years to be killed. Indeed, with a possible eye on the ratings, Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network cable station, itself, sent a reporter to interview Karla less than a day before she was to die. It was a touching interview, if a little self serving.

The reporter said, "Karla, I want to first of all say, what a privilege it is to be here for myself, but also for The 700 Club. We just love you. You are such a wonderful part of our 700 Club family...why the interest (in the execution)? Do you know?"

The answer was just as predictable. The confessed killer said, "I have no idea. I'm just blessed to be a part of it. And certainly as God opens the door, I'm going to step through. It's a responsibility. I take it as a very serious responsibility."

Unlike most born-agains I have long been against capital punishment. And also unlike them, I rejected their belief in god some 40 years ago. Furthermore, I have nothing but contempt for Pat Robertson. How ironic it was to see that he, his reporter, and I (if not Karla herself) agreed on something.

The young lady and her interviewer weren't the only ones invoking the name of the lord. Hundreds had gathered outside the walls at Huntsville, Texas. As if by tacit agreement they stood apart--those who wanted her life spared stood on one side, those who wanted to hurry Karla along towards her final judgment on the other.

Like at a political rally, they held signs aloft. One of the signs was shaped like a heart and it was decorated with a rose: "JESUS LOVES YOU KARLA AND SO DO WE."

Another almost met those same lofty standards, but equivocated. When the camera passed by, it was held so this message could be seen: "GOD BLESS YOU KARLA." Then, it was turned to show: "BUT KILL THE BITCH ANYHOW."

What sort of sign would I have carried? What sort of sign would any atheist have carried? In Texas it might have been best if one were just quiet about the whole thing. After all, that state requires its officials to believe in god. Article one section four of the constitution says:

No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this state; nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

Well, as they always tell me "Ya gotta believe in something!" Most Christians proclaim their religion is based on love and compassion. Sure! The state which requires its office holders be believers leads the nation in state sanctioned killings. Perhaps the killings are OK if the condemned prisoners find Jesus in the jail cell.

And the show went on. And I watched. Down in the corner of the screen a clock ticked away. She was now less than a half hour from death. As befits a state that loves football almost as much as it loves killing, A Texas execution even has a two minute warning of sorts. After the condemned prisoner is placed on the gurney and strapped down, and after the needles are in her arms, she is given two minutes to make a last statement before the deadly fluid is pumped into her body.

Somewhere along the line I learned we wouldn't be able to hear Karla's last words. That was a profound relief. My guilt for my voyeurism was weighing heavily on me as it was.

We also learned that the United States Supreme Court had one last appeal to consider. That last gasp effort was based on the fact that the state appeals board had never recommended clemency in a capital case in Texas.

Luck was running with the TV show. The appeal was answered when they were on the air, not during a commercial showing women laughing because they'd taken their Ex-Lax. Karla's luck wasn't so good. It was denied. That left it to the governor, George Bush Jr.

His dad once told reporters atheists like me couldn't be citizens. Surely, Karla would have a better shot at a reprieve than one of us dreaded nonbelievers. I didn't think that was fair, but I still didn't want to see the state kill another person.

The two minute warning came and I tried to imagine what Karla might be saying in her last 120 seconds. Then the time was up and even the announcers were quiet. This crusty old atheist joined them in their silence. Soon tears as big as Texas horse turds rolled down my cheeks. Regardless of what she did 14 years earlier, I felt a little sick that so many of us could celebrate her death.

I was certain the only life she will ever have was being taken from a person less than half my age. I was just as certain that another human being was being sacrificed to the silly idea that killing by the state will stop killing by folks so whacked out on drugs they couldn't understand the concept.

It should have been over, but it wasn't. The state that had killed 144 people still didn't have it down pat. Karla was still alive. The governor hadn't spoken yet. He stepped before the microphones to tell us he was required to uphold the laws of Texas. I thought of that other governor, Pontius Pilate, who 2000 years earlier had washed his hands of a similar problem. The man who has his eye on the White House said, "I have concluded judgment about the heart and soul of an individual on death row are best left to a higher authority. May God bless Karla Faye Tucker and God bless her victims and their families.''

As usual, no answer came from that higher authority. In another 30 minutes a doctor started pumping poison into her veins. I wondered if he thought about his oath--the one that started "first do no harm?"

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