Indonesian Death Squad

As I lie here in my comfortable bed, I struggle with my daily internal tantrum over the fact that, in twenty minutes, I must begin putting myself together because I "have" to get to work in an hour and a half. I'm surrounded by comfort and lavishness, though we're not overtly wealthy by today's standards. I have it so much easier than I allow myself to realize. It's a reality I push aside so I don't have to cope with the guilt of those less fortunate than I. So many of us dance this same Waltz.

On the other side of the globe, on a small island called Indonesia, ten human beings (much like myself) are taking their last breaths. Attorney-General Prasetyo has issued the punishment of death by firing squad for a 2006 charge of smuggling of drugs into the country. A shot to the heart and, if still the initial execution is unsuccessful, a shot to the temple.

Pleas have been made by celebrities,  representatives, prime ministers, politicians, & the like to try to save the lives of these individuals in hopes that the Indonesian government might find an alternate way of issuing punishment for the crime. Currently,  no statement has been issued by their president Joko Widodo regardless of the campaigns to spare the lives of the convicted criminals.

As an American I can hardly believe that punishment of death penalty by firing squad, such an old-fashioned, archaic method of issuing justice, is used by any country at all, let alone for the crime of smuggling drugs into the country. Death by firing squad might even be easier to accept for a more severe crime had it been something like the taking of another life or assault or molestation. For the crime of such a minuscule magnitude I struggle see the logic in such a punishment. I can't see the logic in a nation refusing to evolve their judicial system. For Christ's sake,  when I think of firing squad, the image that comes to mind is of Spanish soldiers in uniforms, standing in a line some 150 years ago or more.

I'm not a god fearing man (nor have I ever even understood the term) but my thoughts,  prayers, and love go out to the families of those being dispatched this morning by the Indonesian government including...

Zainal Abidin, an Indonesia man accused of leading a Marijuana smuggling operation,  which he denies

Mary Jane Veloso, from the Philippines. A mother of two (a 6 & 12 year old) who claims to have been fooled into bringing heroin into the country

Raheem Agbaje Salami, Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwuduli Oyatanze from Nigeria. All accused of smuggling drugs into the country inside their bodies

Martin Anderson (from either Ghana or Nigeria) who was charged worth smuggling heroin

Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte who was supposedly bringing cocaine into Indonesia inside surf boards

May you rest well. May your families find peace. May the government of Indonesia finally hear the cries of the human beings worldwide who feel that the punishment,  in this case does not, even remotely, fit the crime.

Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/apr/28/bali-nine-andrew-chan-myuran-sukumaran-executed-indonesia-mercy#block-553d9484e4b006cad0a26a12