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We've all got our biases. I will certainly admit mine. But while I believe in polite society there's at least room for debate concerning an individual's responsibility for excessive weight gain, I don't think there's any such room on death row.

Ohio agrees with me.

Death row inmate Richard Cooey had received a last little bit of infamy by claiming that at 5-foot-7, 267 pounds he was "too fat" to be executed. While it sounds like a joke on the surface, the concern was it would be too difficult to find a vein for lethal injection and the subsequent efforts would lead to "cruel and unusual punishment."

Much like fatness, I'm open to discussions on the death penalty. Either we should have it, or we shouldn't and since we have it it should be as humane as possible considering you're killing somebody.

That said...

I certainly have no sympathy for Cooey's fat defense. The guy was convicted of the sexual assaults and slayings of two University of Akron students. Again, two students. Ages 20 and 21. Cooey was convicted back in 1986, which means he spent more time living on appeals then his victims actually spent living.

And it should be noted that Cooey blames prison food for 75 pounds he's put on since his incarceration. Here we live in a country where too many kids still go to bed hungry at night and this cat was complaining about the penal system was packing on his pounds.

Anyway, the matter is now moot. Cooey was executed at 10:28 this morning. Let killers beware. If you want to live, you gotta come up with something better than "does this prison jumpsuit make me look fat?"

Being overweight is no excuse for keeping a vicious killer alive.

5:04 - October 14, 2008

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