Except

For my entire life, I have been against the death penalty. Murder is wrong. Period. Even if (insert ghoulish crime here)? Yes, even then.

A life sentence without parole is acceptable to me.

Except.

The murderer of seven-year-old Athena Strand received the death penalty earlier this week, and I might be okay with that. If you don’t know know about this case, search for it carefully, because it’s a horror.

And I’m really upset that I might be okay with that.

The only time I veered close to “yeah, he deserves death” was Derek Chauvin, but Minnesota had (rightfully. rightfully?) abolished the death penalty, and the federal charges he pleaded to didn’t qualify him for it ether.

This time I read the lethal injection decision and just said, “Okay.”

Is it because we all saw the last photo of her in the truck? Is it because there is grisly audio of the crime?

Or maybe it’s that I’m losing my last shred of humanity. Maybe all of the terrible things happening in the world — the constant cruelty and unshrouded hate — have burned away some of my compassion.

I don’t like it, and I don’t like myself very much right now.