That whale is a remorseless killer
We haven’t learned much about the penal process, all these years. I’m ignoring the mess we’ve made with humankind here; let’s jump to the animal kingdom. Animals don’t like to be kept in cages, even if the food is good. A prisoner will act out, and sometimes there will be tragic results. And, just like we learned in sociology class, there will be recidivism.
Down in Florida, a killer whale has killed. Again. My condolences to the family and friends of the jail guard trainer, who was dragged underwater and murdered. Is that the right term? Unfortunately, there won’t be a trial before a group of peers, and a judge may show interspecies bias and a marked problem with communications.
Here’s where things turn sour. The same whale was involved in another murder, almost two decades ago. Despite being kept in captivity, no signs of remorse have been noted in the prisoner’s file. And, despite no firm evidence (other than a body found in the pool area), a third person may have been the victim of this savage killer.
Florida may have capital punishment for humans, but there doesn’t seem to be any statute dealing with dangerous finned offenders.
Should the decision come down (from the governor) to execute the killer whale, we’ll have to forget hanging, shooting (Mythbusters have shown that shooting into a tank of water isn’t particularly dangerous), electrocution in a big chair and any number of other methods. Lethal injection might work, except that whales don’t have arms, per se, so choosing a site for the needle might prove challenging.
