Matters of life and death
the true crime that's worth your time
As widely reported last night, prosecutors in the University of Idaho slayings case have announced that they’ll be seeking the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of stabbing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin to death late last year.
Kohberger had earlier entered a plea of not guilty, so an announcement like that at this stage is often used as a ploy — “take a plea and get life” is the message. Save us all some hassle (and taxpayers’ money) and you’ll get to live your days out in a cell somewhere. Maybe write a book, do some interviews. (I’m not saying that’s definitely what’s happening here, but as a person who’s lived in the world for a bit, that’s my educated guess.)
BTW, did you know that due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs, as of next month Idaho will use firing squads to execute prisoners? I was thinking about how, if the state actually acts on that recently-signed legislation, about how that has such potential to change how we view The Executioner’s Song, Normal Mailer’s book about convicted killer Gary Gilmore’s court battle to die by execution squad in the 1970s. Is a country that has gone from no executions to normalized executions, some at gunpoint, in just a few decades, showing big progress? Ask me again after I’ve had breakfast.
As long as we’re on The Executioner’s Song, this seems like a good time to discuss the best and worst true crime that’s focused on the death penalty, both in the U.S. and elsewhere. As I asked Sarah this morning, I wonder if Dead Man Walking (now nearly 30 years old, good lord) has held up? Are there better ways to approach the Velma Barfield case than Death Sentence (I think there must be). Did watching I Am A Killer change your perspective on capital punishment (in either direction)? Let’s talk about the properties that handled the matter excellently, and the properties that are best forgotten. — EB