Old Smokey
‘FEW of us know the exact hour of our passing.
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| ‘I’ll be smoking’ |
But inmates on Death Row in Californias prisons are afforded this luxury. They not only know when they will die, but how they will die, who will be there and what theyll be wearing.
Or do they? Because, as the Times reports, the great fear is that a felon may perish on his way to extinction. They may escape what passes for American justice by croaking from cancer caused by smoking.
Yes, folks, news from the US of A is that as of today inmates in Californias prisons are banned from smoking, and that includes those jailbirds earmarked for a lethal injection or the gas chamber.
This is a good, common-sense measure, says Tim Leslie, the Republican assembly figure who led the ban.
Its good for the states 80,000 non-smoking prisoners, because they dont have to breath someone elses smoke. Its good for the smoking prisoners because their health will improve. And its good for California because it will save in smoking-related inmate healthcare costs.
It is nothing less than what Leslie says it is common sense.
Although not everyone is as sensible as the clear thinking Mr Leslie and we foresee problems.
For instance, forcing a murderer to adhere to a ban on smoking could be tricky, however draconian the punishment.
And it can only get harder if theyve been strapped to an electric chair and the smoke is coming out of their ears…’
Posted: 1st, July 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
