"Why Ain't I Surprised?"

I wasn't surprised to hear that the piece of crap who murdered HPD Officer Rodney Johnson was given life in prison. All day yesterday I heard officers express their shock and dismay. Many of them feel that the public (especially that jury) feel a murderer's life is worth sparing while theirs is expendable. To officers, the choice was simple. He murdered a police officer, he forfeited his right to live. I asked all of them, "why are you surprised? This is the public we're talking about!" I went on to explain how the general public do not really want to make life and death decisions (as if officers liked making those decisions themselves). People do not want the burden of having made a decision to take someone else's life. The mentality of the general public is for someone else to make the tough decisions so they can sit and play "Monday morning quarterback" afterward from the safety and comfort of their dinner tables. I feel many people have become so "sympathetic" that it has become ridiculous. Thomas Jefferson wrote "all men (women too) are created equal." That does not mean that all men (women) are equally deserving of life. There is a line in an old Jane's Addiction song "Pigs in Zen" that says "some people should die!" That line is correct, not every man (woman) is worth sparing. If someone forced me to make a decision on whose life to spare, Juan Quintero, or my dog Foxie. The choice is simple, kill Quintero and give me my dog, she earned herself a doggie treat.
Another reason I feel his life was spared was the jury selection. The defense succeeded in finding people who probably could find sympathy with the Manson family's actions. When the 'life without the possibility of parole' law was passed I knew this would happen. It gave juries the option to "shoo away" these killers under the rug instead of having to make the decision to put them out of our misery.
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but compare the Houston Chronicle's version of this verdict with KPRC's version. Anyone see a glaring contrast? Once again, the Chronicle's 'plight of the illegal alien' mentality is the focus of their story. KPRC writes of the reactions of both sides of the aisle regarding the verdict. The story is "cop killer got life in prison, his family and fellow officers feel slapped in the face and kicked in the nuts while the defense side is joyful." However the Chronicle just can't help but to inject their pro-illegal alien views into their story.