When I didnt know better, I supported capital punishment. Now each time I read or hear of another person put to death by a U.S. state, I feel the angst of a nation still not civilized. I feel ashamed like we are still a brutal Third World place where violence is always met by violence. Like killing killers is somehow redemptive and makes us safer.I read the stories of Robert Charles Comer, 50, who is sentenced to die Tuesday morning at the Arizona State Prison at Florence by lethal injection and see how pathetic his life has been. The events of 20 years Feb. 23, 1987 are, indeed, nasty and unspeakable. At an Apache Lake campground, he shot Larry Pritchard in the head and killed him. He moved on to another campsite, hogtied a man and raped that mans girlfriend, then kidnapped her. In 1988, he was convicted on 13 counts, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and rape. Through all these 20 years, Comer, described as a cold and callous killer, has been completely uncooperative with prison staff, has repeatedly waived rights for appeal (although they are mandatory by law) and has been quite a cuss. His misconduct helps satiates execution supporters justification to drug him to death. According to Tribune writer Gary Grados front-page article today, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in 2000, had refused to allow his execution, ruling that his claims of sanity were not enough to drop his appeals of his conviction. There has been speculation that Comer is just tired of it all and wants the state to help him in what amounts to legalized suicide. Prison conditions can easily drive folks to want to just want to die early. So much of it surrounds his sanity or insanity. I have no original ideas why capital punishment is wrong. Few social issues have been debated more. Its standard fare for debate clubs in schools and colleges. The two sides have exhausted the arguments for and against state-sponsored execution, and why people support or reject it essentially comes down to how they think about a whole parcel of human issues. In 1972, the U.S. voided all federal and state laws calling for the death penalty on the grounds that those condemned to die were subject to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. States, then, went to work enacting more acceptable means of killing criminals. Arizona had killed 104 people before 1976, then went 16 years before resuming them in 1992. Twenty-two have been executed since then, but none since 2000. Nationally, as of March 10, some 1,066 have been put to death in the U.S. since 1976, led by Texas with 387 and Virginia 98.The public state that puts billions into ending murder and mayhem should not be taking life. As a deterrent to major crime, capital punishment doesnt seem to work. Of course, the costs to the state to put someone on the road to execution and deal with the legal appeals and ensure the safeguards trump the argument that it saves money and frees up cell space.You cannot truly value life by valuing the end to a life no matter how hideous it was lived. Im ready for the sickness in my stomach and the shame on Tuesday when my state goes back to killing.

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