I try not to be too controversial on Momma Muse… I just don’t like debate, never have… but I’m speaking on this one, today..
This week, I got a message from friend about her son and a friend of his. He was friends with a girl his age on Facebook. They lived about an hour away from each other, so had only “hung out” a couple of times. This past Saturday, he received a text that she was missing. The next morning, he got a call on his cell and he passed it along to his mother. It was a family member of the girl calling to talk to my friend to let her know what had happened… her body had been found very early that morning.
The girl was Esme Kenney. A thirteen year old who had two majors at her middle school for the performing arts in Cincinnati.
A suspect was apprehended hours before her body was found. He was sleeping against a tree, just 100 yards from where her body would be found a few hours later. In his pocket was her watch and her ipod. Hard not to already blame him, regardless of the innocent until proven guilty laws in our country.
His name, Anthony Kirkland. A man who had several warrants out for his arrest, a man who was violent and a violent sex offender. His history is littered with offenses, yet this man “slipped through the cracks” of our lenient system and was walking the streets, able to take the life a promising young girl.
I say “slipped through the cracks”.. it’s a term commonly used when a violent person is able to commit yet another violent act after a seemingly long list of other crimes committed. It’s easy to see in retrospect why he should have been locked up longer, tighter… and yet.. he wasn’t. Why not?
I don’t know this young girl. So I’m not calling out in emotional rage. I usually keep my point of view on this topic quiet, as many family and friends just do not agree with me… and really, that’s ok… But right now, this minute, I want to scream.. What is wrong with our country and it’s rules regarding violence committed against another?
I was out visiting my dads this week. This is a man again death sentence, police are referred to as pigs and he’s all for a revolution. He was hippie when hippies where cool… ok, so he’s my dad, but he’s still totally cool.
We were walking about the grounds at his house and were checking out the chickens who were being homed in the greenhouse for their protection. The opossum had been having lunch at the chickens expense. Dad pointed to a live trap and told us he’d let an opossum die in one. Now, I must say this is not typical of my dad. He’s all for life. But, he has had opossum killing off his chickens off and on for years. And no one willing to help the situation.
He called whomever it is you call when you have an issue like this – someone wildlife related and asked them what to do…. They told him to kill it. Plain and Simple. He was told once they start killing your chickens, they won’t stop. Essentially, the opossum become chicken murderers. He told them he didn’t want to kill it and they offered to come get it (and, we assumed, likely kill it themselves) for a small fee of $150. It’s no wonder he went ahead and let it die.
What were his options? Keep it caged, feed it until it has lived to be a ripe old age? It would be as sure to bite the hand that fed it, as to kill the chicken in the coop. And what about the next opossum, and then the raccoon.. and then next? How many wild animals should he home and care for, who would just as happily kill his chickens (and bit his fingers)? The opossum and raccoons were not going to add to “society” er.. the wilderness.. in any beneficial way, particularly since they’d become violent offenders. Why should my dad (or anyone else) be responsible for caring and feeding a violent animal who has nothing to contribute? Just because it’s “life”? oh please. so not.
I took this as a lesson our society needs to look at. While we don’t want to kill animals, the animals are going to kill regardless of what we do with them – no, not all, but the ones who’ve proven violent already. The wildlife experts are aware of this… so why, as a society, do we allow violent offenders to be homed, cared for, and protected? I can’t help but wonder, since our species is thinking, logic-solving, could a harsher penalty be dealt out to keep more in line? Maybe not. But must we each pay to house a man like Anthony Kirkland? He violently strangled, attempted rape and set fire to a helpless thirteen year old girl and guess what… each one of us tax paying citizens is donating to his life behind bars. We are feeding him, providing his toilet paper, we are paying the wages of the men and women who are right there taking care to make sure he has food, and dole out the rolls of toilet paper.
If we took the advice of the wildlife experts, is it really worth saving him? He obviously can’t be set free again, and he isn’t contributing to society… so why do we keep him? What is the point? Because he is human? Because it’s a life? No. Bullshit. His life is not justifiably worthy, not after all he’s done. I, for one, do not want one penny of all the money I make in a lifetime to go to a murderous, evil monster as this.
The coroner is quoted saying the strangulation was “very severe, very severe”. Nope.. not one penny of my money… no way.
Here, read Anthony Kirkland’s track record. Or, to make it easy to see just what is what, here is the time line breakdown – in my thinking, he must have had quite a juvenile record too, but of course that is neither here nor there and totally irrelevant.
In my opinion, death penalty to the violent critters stealing and killing chickens and to the violent offenders who have no regard for other humans or their lives.
A memorial service was held for Esme Kenney today…
My heart and sympathy goes out to all those who knew and were friends and family of Esme… May you find peace…
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you, Judi. I tried reading this yesterday on my BB when you sent it to me … but I was in a very public place (food court at the Fairfield Mall) and decided I needed to wait.
You have said it well. Esme’s memorial service was amazing yesterday. The place was packed. There were community members outside at the start of the service, standing in a circle, holding hands. It was comforting knowing they were there.
She was a bright, intense young lady.
She will be sorely missed.
First, I’d like to say that my sympathy goes out to the family, friends, and community who loved Esme. Such a horrible tragedy.
This post really struck a chord with me, Judi. I used to fancy myself as a champion of life, totally opposed to the “cruelty” of capital punishment. Then, I had children, and I suddenly had this mama bear inside me who would not hesitate to protect-or avenge- my children. Enough said.
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Not wanting to get into the death-penalty thing, but your father could have simply killed the possum humanely rather than letting it starve to death in a cage.
and in addition, if he had housed his chickens better the possum would not have been able to get to them. Killing a wild animal for being a wild animal is un-excusable.
Hi Zoo, thanks for taking the time to comment. Of course, the point of the post wasn’t so much about the euthanized opossoum and/or raccoons, so much as it was pointing out that wildlife experts in our area say to “kill them”. And my using that as an analogy about a man who [allegedly] violently killed a young girl, taken right off the street in broad daylight. A man who should *not* have been on the street in the first place. And what to do with violent reoffenders like him.
It saddens me to see you have more regard and/or interest for the opossum in my post than the little girl who was brutally murdered.. this, imo, is part of the problem of our society.
So, you think it’s my dads fault because [you assume] his chicken coup wasn’t built strong enough. I’m guessing you don’t know too much about opossum or raccoons. They are very dexterous critters and if they want into something, they very likely will manage a way to get in. Short of keeping the chickens in the house, he is bound to periodically lose a chicken or two every few years. And if the offending critter is caught…. well… he’ll suffer the consequences. To bad that while they are such puzzle thinking critters, they aren’t quite smart enough to learn by example or we might hold a trial and make the euthenization more “public”. Certainly they were not “killed just for being a wild animal”.. they crossed the line on what is acceptible in our area (and not just by my dad opinion), just like violent human offenders…
And, by your comment – but I am assuming now, since your comment was really about the possum and not the young girl murdered, I take it if women took more care to not walk or jog alone (regardless of age) we wouldn’t take a chance on being murdered. Or if, as mothers, we never left our children with male friends, boyfriends, fathers or relatives, they wouldn’t be molested or raped. But should the unthinkable happen, if they are, and those persons of interest are found guilty, as long as they are killed humanely all will be good……….
Here is the code for dealing with these critters (raccoons in particular) in Ohio:
“According to Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-15-03, it is illegal to live trap, move and release raccoons.
Persons dealing with a nuisance raccoon cannot relocate the animal. There are only two legal options for
nuisance raccoons; euthanize or release on the same property where they were live trapped. Uninformed
people who are relocating nuisance raccoons may be contributing to rabies crossing the barrier.”
1501:31-15-03 Nuisance wild animal regulations. (Ohio)
“(4) Every person who live-traps a wild animal shall release such animal outside the limits of any incorporated village or city. Animals shall not be released on public or private property without the permission of the landowner. Provided further, raccoon, skunk, opossum, beaver, coyote, or fox shall be euthanized or released on site.”