Reply #29: schadenfreude begets schadenfreude [View All]

[madmusic]

When I say "This case makes it hard to argue against the death penalty," that doesn't mean it is impossible to argue against it. If I had caught John Couey burying Jessica Lunsford and the only way to stop him in time was to kill him, I would have. That's how serious his crime was. That is a far cry from a cold and calculated murder done by the state, however. By law, we can only kill in self defense of ourselves or another when there is a direct and immediate threat to life. Executions do not obey that law.

A psychologist on Nancy Grace was saying how Couey was a psychopath who enjoys harming children. That is a form of schadenfreude, and so is wanting to put him to death. Schadenfreude = schadenfreude. That's why I fear there may be more child murders after Jessica's Law. Couey evidently did not bury her out of some psychopathic lust, but did so to cover the crime. Jessica's Law might make that more common.

Edit: sp.