Death to Executions

An Eye for an Eye only applies for the poor,
That’s how the death sentence goes, but there’s more.
It’s an opportunity for a killer to name another,
To avoid permanent separation from mother.

Justin Sneed killed Van Treese, and to avoid his snuff,
Pointed at Glossip — too poor for counsel’s rebuff.
With false testimony, Sneed bargained life in prison,
Leaving Glossip with a red state’s fatal schism.

A criminal system that works for rich, not poor,
Rich money buys verdicts pushing them out the door.
Or connections like Wall Street can sidestep the law,
And reveal once more a justice system’s many flaws.

No DNA, no prints, no credible witnesses to date,
But soon Richard is left to a death penalty fate.

It’s hard to get justice once the system is cheated,
Empathy in political hearts is mostly defeated.

Keep pressure on the system to do what is right,
However slow justice, we must keep up the fight.

James Hoover is a recently retired systems engineer. He has advanced degrees in Economics and English. Prior to his aerospace career, he taught high school, and he has also taught college courses. He recently published a science fiction novel called Extraordinary Visitors and writes political columns on several websites. Read other articles by James.