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Conservatives Should Be Loudly Against Trump’s Drug Dealer Death Penalty Plan
At the Weekly Standard Haley Byrd is reporting:
Republicans in Congress appeared open to President Donald Trump’s proposal to use the death penalty to crack down on drug dealers on Thursday night before the expected release of the president’s long-awaited opioid plan.
Politico reported on Thursday that Trump’s plan to respond to the opioid crisis would involve stricter punishments for convicted drug dealers, including the death penalty for some. Federal law currently authorizes prosecutors to seek the death penalty as an option in drug-related murders, but CBS reported the administration is hoping to expand capital punishment for drug crimes by encouraging prosecutors to utilize it in cases of trafficking leading to fatal opioid overdoses.
As a pro-life, small government conservative, I find this plan not only chilling, disturbing, and wrong, but also completely antithetical to everything I believe.
I’m a conservative because I believe that the state should not be given an overwhelming amount of power over its citizenry, and the ability for the state to legally kill its citizens is perhaps the most disturbing expression of that power in our country. Men are not God, and the death penalty allows us to pretend as though we are. Stories of men being exonerated off of death row are common, and while stories of individuals being released after 20-year sentences are too, they can at least leave prison with the rest of their lives.
I’m a conservative because I believe in personal responsibility. While there are contributing factors when it comes to drug abuse; ultimately, when an individual chooses to get high off of an illegal substance a drug dealer is selling, they are knowingly doing so despite the very real risk of death. Dealers are bad people and should be punished, but they aren’t holding anyone down against their will, either. The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem.
I’m a conservative because I’m pro-life. Doling out death, sometimes to innocents, is in total contrast to my belief that life should be protected and respected – inside and outside the womb. Stories of botched executions sealed (read this from the Atlantic) are chilling, but especially in light of the fact that these barbaric punishments have been given to total innocents over the course of American history.
Ninety-five percent of all known executions were carried out in only six countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Pakistan, and Iraq. While trying to ban late-term abortions, conservatives take note to showcase the barbarity of abortion by highlighting the only places where abortion on demand is permitted until the moment of birth: Canada, China, Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. We should not be proud to be among either of these two groups of countries, but those that give out the death penalty in largest numbers are particularly heinous.
Writing for the Standard, Byrd explains,
Trump cheerleader Chris Collins was quick to offer his support for the proposal. “Absolutely,” said Collins. “I think we need to have real consequences.” And California Republican Darrell Issa, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told me that using capital punishment for drug-related crimes could be a “useful tool” for law enforcement in fighting organized crime.
…
Federal drug trafficking penalties vary according to the crime. Currently, possession with the intent to distribute between 40 grams and 399 grams of the opioid fentanyl—in the case of death or serious injury—can be punishable by 20 years to life in prison and a fine ranging anywhere from $2 million to $5 million on the first offense, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Penalties get tougher on second offense.
We already have real consequences, and the real world already holds the possibility of dealers being killed over the course of their chosen profession every day; that isn’t a deterrent for irrational actors like drug kingpins. This proposal would do nothing to stop more drug deaths and instead expand the power of the state in a disturbing and unprecedented way. Even if this proposal, like many others out of Trump’s mouth, is mere bluster, the fact that Republicans and conservatives are advocating for it delegitimizes everything we claim to believe, and they should be made to answer for it.
Published in Domestic Policy
Bingo. I would ask Conservatism, Inc. (I like the term) if they follow their principles when they select an auto mechanic, a doctor, or a fast food restaurant:
“Hello, I’m conservative pundit Jane Doe. I want to swing by and pick up some burgers and fries for my family, but I was wondering . . . is your manager faithful to his wife? Does he go to church regularly? Is he for free trade? Does he believe Obama is Satan’s Spawn? He does? Great! I’ll be right over. Thanks!” [Hangs up the phone.] “After thirty-seven tries, I finally got a burger joint I can go to.”
I take more of a “Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out” point of view. Not necessarily for drug dealers (although a case can be made), but for certain extreme crimes like the “kidnap someone and hold them prisoner for 15-20 years” stories we’ve seen a few of in recent years, among others.
I will say that just about every time I hear about some violent crime (especially relating to the quick access of money), it seems to be related to addicts needing money for the next fix. How many good people have died because of these people?
Drug policy seems to be another split between the college-educated, suburban conservative-libertarian establishment and the Trump-voters with many conservative instincts who have had their lives and family finances ruined by drug addiction.
As someone who doesn’t drink alcohol and rarely drinks coffee, I really don’t understand the whole opioid addiction mess. Just don’t do it. That was the Nancy Reagan message, but society seems to be craving something more these days.
For some, the addiction starts while being prescribed for related medications.
For others, it starts as an escape from grief or depression, like alcohol, but stronger.
Some people, especially if they can’t see a way to fix the problems they are in (hopelessness) try to drug away the feelings that should prompt and motivate them to change the situation. Hopelessness makes you want to dull that feeling, so… drugs.
Addiction has its own treatment plan. To stop the addiction from starting, they need a social safety net (not government!). Used to be family could catch these people before things got so bad, but broken families and dispersion harm the familial safety net. By the time an intact family catches on for a dispersed family member, it may already be too late. My brother in law was living in his car for months in NYC before his family in Florida even knew there was a oroblem… this family is close, too.
Tucker Carlson had a very persuasive psychiatrist on that blamed it directly on the structure of the economy (I blame government and central banking, not the opioid swallowers and Trump voters) and the atomization of community for whatever. People need agency, opportunity, and good friends. Opioids fill that gap. I was on Demerol for 24 hours and it’s just shocking how good it makes you feel.
Harsh punishments work. There’s much less thievery, for example, in Islamic countries which cut off your hand as punishment. The Chinese eradicated their opioid problem by executing the users, not just the dealers.
Running the risk of losing limbs or facing your Maker has a way of concentrating the mind.
Note: I’m not advocating a position for or against executing drug dealers. I’m just pointing out the logic of it.
Virtue cannot be coerced (as these authoritarian societies demonstrate). But, vice can definitely be inhibited — for a price.